The effect of penicillin on skin graft survival in mice

The effect of penicillin administered to mice graft recipients on the allograft survival time as well as modulation of the rejection were studied. The skin graft donors (DBA mice strain) and recipients (CBA mice strain) were incompatible in the major histocompatibility system H-2. The control group was made up of the mice which had received skin grafts only. The penicillin was injected intraperitoneally 5 times in daily doses of 10,20, and 30 thousand units per mouse from the 6th to 2nd day before, or in doses of 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 thousand units on days 0 to 4 after skin grafting. One experimental group of CBA mice had been treated with a single dose of 30,000 units of penicillin only, just before skin grafting. The treatment of mice with penicillin in doses of 15, 20 and 30 thousand units after skin grafting showed an immunostimulating influence on the immunological response of the graft host, manifested as statistically highly significant (p less than 0.001), shortening of graft survival, the onset and duration of time of graft rejection. The antibiotic administered to mice once on operation day prolonged the onset of graft rejection only. No statistical difference between the whole course of skin graft rejection in the mice pre-treated with penicillin and untreated mice of the control group was stated. The results indicate modulation effect of penicillin on the cell immune response of the host, depending on the dose, multiplicity and time of its administration in relation to operative day.