Low immune responses in high androgen responder C57BR/cdj males

Previous studies have shown that male mice of strains with high target organ responsiveness to androgen, the C57L/J and RF/J, have lower plasma immunoglobulin levels and weaker antibody responses to protein and polysaccharide antigens than mice of low androgen responder (LAR) strains, the A/J and 129/J. In the current report, the relationship between high androgen responsiveness and low immune performance has been investigated in another strain, the C57BR/cdj. Compared to LAR A/J males, C57BR/cdj males had significantly higher target organ responses to androgen as measured by both seminal vesicle bioassay and haematocrit. High androgen responder (HAR C57BR/cdj males were lower than A/J's in PFC responses to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced spleen cell proliferation and polyclonal B cell activation. HAR C57BR/cdj males were not significantly different from C57BR/cdj females or A/J mice in proliferative responses to concanavalin A (Con A) or phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). These results are compatible with our previous findings in other HAR strains and suggest that the consistently low in vivo immune responses of HAR males may be due to B cell weakness or T suppressor dysregulation.