Effect of a nitrofuran derivative (AF2) on the immune response of mice

The effect of 2-(2-furyl)-3-(5-nitro-2-furyl)acrylamide (AF-2), which had been widely used in Japan as a food preservative, on the immune response of mice was analyzed, since the drug has been known to reveal very potent mutagenicity but fairly weak carcinogenicity. Although AF-2 suppressed the primary immune response of mice under limited experimental conditions, in general, it augmented the immune response of mice, especially the production of immunological memory. It was found by hapten-carrier system that activities of both the T-cell lineage and the B-cell lineage were enhanced by the administration of AF-2, but the activation of the T-cell lineage seemed to be primary because the chemical did not affect the response of mice to a T cell-independent antigen epsilon-2,4-dinitrophenyl-L-lysyl-dextran T2000 (DNP50-dextran T2000). AF-2 did not prevent the suppressive effect of 7,12-dimethylbenza[a]anthracene (DMBA) on the immune response but it suppressed both the primary and the memory production in concert with DMBA, suggesting that the augmenting effect of AF-2 on the T-cell lineage may be in a different way from that of immunopotentiators such as lentinan.