Brief Communication: In Vivo Cortisone Sensitivity of Nonspecific Antitumor Activity of Corynebacterium parvum-Activated Mouse Peritoneal Macrophages2

Abstract

The nonspecific antitumor activity of Corynebacterium parvum-activated mouse peritoneal macrophages in vitro was inhibited by their prior treatment with cortisone acetate in vivo. Inhibition was marked (60%) 24 hours after cortisone injection and was still significant at 7 days, but antitumor activity was completely recovered by 9 days. This transient inhibition was sufficient to abolish the nonspecific protection afforded by C. parvum in an in vivo pretreatment model.