Abstract
The delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity test with picryl chloride was used to demonstrate the influence of various kinds of antitumor agents on cellular immunity in mice. Each agent was intraperitoneally administered once daily for 5 days before or after the sensitization with picryl chloride. 1) Influence of alkylating agents: Pre-treatment of mice with carboquone or cyclophosphamide proved to enhance the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) . On the other hand, post-treatment suppressed the DTH. 2) Antimetabolites: Although cyclocytidine and cytarabine showed no effect, azathioprine, 5-fluorouracil, 6-mercaptopurine, methotrexate and tegafur suppressed DTH by the post-treatment. The suppressive effect of 5-fluorouracil showed tendency towards recovery by the administration of schizophyllan. 3) Antitumor antibiotics: Among 10 kinds of antitumor antibiotics tested, pre- or post-treatment with anthramycin and pre-treatment with bleomycin were found to suppress DTH. 4) No significant suppression was observed in the cases of vinblastine, vincristine, L-asparaginase and cisplatin. 5) Prednisolone and cyclosporin A inhibited the reaction by the post-treatment. 6) Immunopotentiating agents: Marked enhancement of DTH was recognized by the interaperitoneal injection of schizophyllan and krestin before or after the sensitization with picryl chloride.
