Abstract
Abstract
Balb/c mice, athymic mice with a Balb/c genetic background, and their heterozygote littermates were used in experiments to evaluate the consequence of developing solid tumors on resistance to viral and bacterial infections. Mice bearing 15-day tumors were challenged with Streptococcus pneumoniae, Listeria monocytogenes, herpes simplex virus type 2, or ectromelia virus. The Balb/c tumors employed were a methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma (Meth A) and a mammary carcinoma (D2-7041): these were shown experimentally to be immunogenic and nonimmunogenic, respectively. The data show that these rapidly developing tumors do not impair the native resistance of either the immunocompetent or athymic strains when compared to non-tumor-bearing mice. Tumor burden imparted an enhanced resistance of immunocompetent mice to L. monocytogenes while exerting no measurable effects on the outcome of pneumococcal or ectromelia and herpes simplex virus infections.
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