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Negative and Positive Immunobiological Responses in Mice Pretreated with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Cell Wall¹

Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois 60153, and Department of Pathology, Edward J. Hines, Jr., Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, Illinois 60141

Spleen cells from C57BL/6 mice injected i.p. with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin cell walls (BCGcw) showed strongly depressed response to the T-cell mitogen phytohemagglutinin-P in vitro. Mitogen reactivity of normal spleen cells could be suppressed by the addition of spleen cells from BCGcw-treated mice. The suppressor cells mediating this effect appeared to belong to the plastic-adherent, radioresistant, and non-T-cell populations, maybe macrophages. Spleen cells from mice which had been passively transferred i.p. with the adherent cells from BCGcw-treated mice also showed the depressed mitogen response in vitro. Depressed T-cell reactivity of spleen cells obtained from animals immunized with BCGcw on a per-cell basis was also demonstrated in vivo: graft versus host reactivity of spleen cells obtained from animals immunized with BCGcw was depressed as compared to normal spleen cells. At times when strong suppressor cell activity could be detected in BCGcw-treated mice, activity of alloimmune cytotoxic lymphocytes generated in vivo by immunizing with X-irradiated allogeneic MH-134 tumor cells was weaker in BCGcw-pretreated mice than in untreated control groups (detected by means of ⁵¹Cr release assay). Furthermore, accelerated development of s.c. inoculated syngeneic B-16 melanoma cells was observed in BCGcw-pretreated mice. On the other hand, stronger resistance to i.v. inoculated B-16 tumor cells was observed in BCGcw-pretreated mice. BCGcw-treated mice responded normally to i.p. immunization with 2 x 10⁸ sheep erythrocytes. Negative and positive immunobiological responses were observed in C57BL/6 mice pretreated with BCGcw.

¹ Supported by the Medical Research Service of the Veterans Administration.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Pathology Research (151 Z 1), Edward J. Hines, Jr., Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, Ill. 60141.

Received 3/22/83. Accepted 9/12/83.