BIOLOGIC PROPERTIES OF ISCADOR - A VISCUM-ALBUM PREPARATION .1. HYPERPLASIA OF THE THYMIC CORTEX AND ACCELERATED REGENERATION OF HEMATOPOIETIC-CELLS FOLLOWING X-IRRADIATION

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 44  (1) , 43-47
Abstract
A preparation of Viscum album (Iscador) has unusual effects on the immune system. In CD-1 mice, the mean weight of the thymus increased from 45-85 mg following 6 daily i.p. injections of 2.5 mg of Iscador. The thymic trophic influence was maintained over a long time period. Sprague-Dawley rats treated with Iscador for 16 wk showed an increase of 78% in thymic weight over controls. The increased thymic weight was due to increased cortical thymocyte proliferation. The blast cell number in the outer thymic cortex increased within 2 days of the 1st injection and remained at high levels. Thymocytes of Iscador-treated animals were 29 times more responsive to concanavalin A than those of untreated controls. Iscador increased the amount of antibody produced by animals injected with sheep red blood cells if it was injected after the antigen. Iscador had effects on hematopoietic cells. It accelerated the recovery of hematopoietic tissue in bone marrow and spleens of irradiated animals. V. album preparations may be valuable reagents for perturbing thymus function.

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