Influence of Nitrogen Mustards on the Antibody Response.

Abstract

-The leuco-toxic effects of the nitrogen mustards on the hemopoietic system suggest that they may influence the ability of the animal to form antibodies. The antibody titer was followed in the serum of rabbits following injns. of typhoid vaccine. Intravenous doses of nitrogen mustard given at the peak of antibody response did not produce a summation of the titer. An anamnestic reaction did not occur when the nitrogen mustard was given after the antibody titer had declined. When typhoid vaccine and nitrogen mustard were injd. simultaneously and the chemical continued in doses every 4 days, the antibody curve was moderately reduced, but if the vaccine was delayed until a leucopenia had developed, the response was markedly suppressed. It is suggested that the toxic dissolution of the lymphocyte or other hemopoietic cells by nitrogen mustard does not release antibody. The antibody-forming mechanism is disrupted by the cytotoxic nitrogen mustard.