Effect of 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene on Phagocytosis and Antibody Formation in Friend Virus Leukemia

BALB/c mice with Friend virus leukemia showed (i) a decreased carbon uptake by spleen and liver, observed histologically and measured by the corrected phagocytic index alpha, in spite of an increased total carbon clearance measured by the phagocytic index K, and (ii) a decreased serum hemolysin titer. Treatment with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) increased the carbon uptake by spleen and liver and the serum hemolysin titer. This corresponds to the previously described effect of DMBA on Friend virus leukemia as expressed in the blood picture and the delay in the neoplastic transformation of the spleen causing a prolonged latent period and survival time and a decreased spleen weight. DMBA alone had no effect on carbon clearance and serum hemolysin titer in normal mice.