The immunotoxicity of triphenyltin chloride in mice

The immunotoxicity of triphenyltin chloride (TPTC) in mice was investigated. 1) When TPTC was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) into mice at doses between 1 and 10 mg/kg for 14 d, a reduction in the weights of thymus and spleen was noticed, however, the body weight was not changed significantly. 2) The production of hemolytic plaque forming cells in the spleen of mice immunized with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was inhibited by the administration of 10 mg/kg of TPTC. 3) The i.p. injection of TPTC at a dose of 10 mg/kg for 5 d after the primary immunization of mice with dinitrophenylated ascaris antigen resulted in suppression of immunoglobulin E antibody formation in primary immune response, but did not affect the secondary immune response. 4) The production of antibody against polyvinylpyrrolidone (T cell independent antigen) was not affected by the administration of TPTC. 5) The production of effector T cells which are able to cause SRBC- or tuberculin-induced footpad reaction in mice and the induction of cytotoxic T cell in local graft versus host reaction in mice were also inhibited by TPTC. These results indicate that TPTC inhibits both the T cell dependent humoral and cellular immune responses in mice.