Natural anti-tumor serum reactivity in balb/c mice. II. Control by regulator t-cells

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Abstract
By a complement‐dependent cytotoxicity test, 37 sera from 1‐ to 18‐month‐old BALB/c mice were tested for natural anti‐tumor and anti‐thymus immune reactivity. The level of anti‐tumor and anti‐thymus antibodies increased with age, and a high individual variability, particularly evident in the older animals, was found. The appearance of the spontaneous antibodies was correlated to the T‐cell status of mice. Animals with the higher spleen T‐cell content were those with the higher anti‐thymus and the lower anti‐tumor natural antibody level, and vice verso. In T‐deprived mice the anti‐tumor response increased, whereas the anti‐thymus response was not influenced. An inoculum of T cells from young to older syngeneic mice yielded a decrease of the anti‐tumor response and an increase of the anti‐thymus response. Homeostatic immunologic mechanisms, in which the cellular and the humoral system alternate in the tumor cell control, are suggested.