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General Immunocompetence of Rats Bearing Avian Sarcoma Virus-induced Intracranial Tumors¹

Division of Experimental Pathology, Department of Pathology [T. L. R.] and Neurology [W. R. M.], College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506; Neurosurgical Service, Veterans Administration Hospital [W. H. B.], Lexington, Kentucky 40503; and Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710 [D. D. B.]

The mitogenic responsiveness of spleen cells obtained from avian sarcoma virus-inoculated Fischer 344 rats was studied. Sixty % of the rats had astrocytomas, 13% had sarcomas, 7% had mixed gliosarcomas, and 20% had no evidence of tumors. Only spleen cells from rats bearing astrocytomas had significantly diminished responses to phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A (Con A) when compared to control responses. The decreased responsiveness observed with phytohemagglutinin was limited to the optimal concentration range (10 and 20 µg) while a broader concentration of Con A (0.01 to 50 µg) induced significant suppression. Moreover, a more profound immunosuppression was observed with Con A. The results also demonstrated that spleen cells from rats with the largest astrocytomas exhibited the greatest suppression. From the results of this study, it appears the avian sarcoma virus-induced astrocytoma in rats is an immunological parallel of the human disease based on the loss of general immunological competence as assessed by responsiveness of lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin and Con A.

¹ This research was supported by Grants CA-17786, CA-18234, and CA-11896 from the National Cancer Institute and Grants IM-92 and IM-152 from the American Cancer Society.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

³ Recipient of National Institute of Neurological Communicative Disorders and Stroke TIA Career Development Award NS11063-04 and American Cancer Society Junior Faculty Clinical Fellowship 257B.

Received 8/ 1/77. Accepted 9/27/77.