Migration inhibition of peritoneal cells and PHA lymphocyte toxicity in rats during methylcholanthrene carcinogenesis

Peritoneal exudate cells obtained from rats bearing primary methylcholanthrene-induced tumors were shown to be inhibited in their capillary tube migration capacity as compared to cells from nontreated control litter-mates. The survival of rat peripheral blood lymphocytes harvested from the same individuals were tested simultaneously in short-term cultures with a standard concentration of Phytohemagglutinin. Lymphocytes from tumor-bearing rats survived better than control lymphocytes in 24-hour cultures with Phytohemagglutinin. A correlation was found from a comparison of the results of these two methods. These findings are discussed with regard to the possibility of T cells depletion from peripheral lymphocyte population, together with the enrichment of this population with B cells in tumor-bearing individuals.