Safety assessment of poly I:C in NZB/NZW mice (38565)

The present report confirms the findings by Steinberg et al. (9) that repeated intraperitoneal injections of poly I:C (3 mug/g, three times per wk, 40-52 doses) enhanced the incidence and severity of glomerular lesions that occur spontaneously in NZG/NZW mice and also increased the development of circulating antibody against nucleic acids. This effect was minimal when only six intraperitoneal doses were given in 1 mug/g amount at weekly intervals. Intranasal administration of poly I:C (0.2 mug/g, three times per wk, 40 doses) or six doses of the drug (1 mug/g weekly) caused no apparent potentiation of glomerular response. ICR/Ha mice, which do not suffer from the spontaneously occurring disease, were uneffected by poly I:C treatment except for occasional development of antibody against poly I:C or DNA.