title: Primary immune responsiveness and other observations in mice given oral dimethyl sulfoxide.
abstract: Mice were allowed to drink 5% DMSO in their drinking water ad libitum for a period of six weeks, during which time a number of variables were compared with age-, weight-, and sex-matched control mice given ordinary tap water. The amount of DMSO consumed increased from a daily average of 27 g/kg/mouse during the first week to 52 g/kg/mouse by the end of the third week. Significant decreases were observed in the treated animals for total body weight, percent spleen weight relative to total body weight, and serum volume, while serum immunoglobulin concentrations remained unchanged. Mice given 4.4 g/kg DMSO intraperitoneally for 7 days, however, revealed significant losses in serum IgG and IgA, but not IgM. The effect of DMSO on the primary humoral response was assessed following immunization of mice with sheep red blood cells either 16 days or 8 weeks after the start of DMSO. Compared with similarly immunized controls, test animals demonstrated moderate, but significant, reductions in both spontaneous and facilitated plaque-forming cells, hemagglutination titres, and serum concentrations of IgG1. Based on a comparison of the two DMSO-treated groups, the degree of immune inhibition increased and the peak of the response was delayed relative to the length of time of DMSO ingestion prior to immunization.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D007109:Immunity / Q000187:drug effects*; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D012756:Sheep; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D007136:Immunoglobulins; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide