Phenol derivatives are immunodepressive in mice

Mice exposed to a compound containing three phenol derivatives by being housed in cages washed with dilute solutions of the compound, developed considerable depression of the ability to generate plaque forming cells (PFC) in response to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) in vitro after a four week exposure. The depression became more severe with continued exposure up to fourteen weeks. Administration of orthophenylphenol (OPP), the most abundant derivative in the mixture, resulted in a similar immunodepression at 10 ppm and a slight depression at 1 ppm. Numbers of FcR+ lymphocytes and of macrophages did not appear to be affected by this treatment. The response to a T-dependent and a T-independent antigen were affected similarly, although the latter was depressed less markedly than the former. While these data are only preliminary, they suggest that studies should be performed in detail to elucidate the immunodepressive effects of compounds which are in wide use as household and institutional disinfectants.