Abstract
Summary
The mechanisms of the impaired cellular immune response after a moderately severe burn in mice was studied. T cells from spleens of burned BALB/c mice showed decreased cytotoxicity (P < 0.05) during the first 9 days postburn compared with nonburned controls. In the one-way MLC, T cells from spleens of the majority of burned BALB/c mice collected on the second, third, and fourth days postburn incubated for 6 days with irradiated spleen cells from C57BL/10J mice also had decreased cytotoxicity (P < 0.05). On the other hand, mixed populations of cells obtained from spleen or peripheral blood of burned BALB/c mice demonstrated no defect in sensitization, either in responding or stimulating abilities, in the MLC. Other experiments in which EL4 cells from burned donor C57BL mice were used to sensitize nonburned BALB/c mice showed decreased immunogenicity in recipient mice. These results indicate that the mechanism of the impaired cellular immune response after burn injury, when assayed by cytotoxicity, probably involves defects in the sensitization process, compromising both responding and stimulating capabilities. The changes produced in T cells by burning to cause this phenomenon are not clear, but no evidence was found for humoral factors in the serum of burned animals or for the presence of suppressor cells which could affect sensitization in the MLC.
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