Testosterone-induced diminution of two peptides in spleen cells from testosterone-immunosuppressed B10 mice.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is used to detect testosterone (T)-sensitive peptides in spleen cells isolated from female C57BL/10 mice immunosuppressed against Plasmodium chabaudi malaria by T treatment. Two peaks with retention times of about 25 min and 34 min, respectively, were identified to be diminished by about 52% and 47%, respectively, in spleen cells from T-treated mice compared to those from untreated mice. Amino acid sequencing revealed that the 24 min peak consisted of the dipeptide Met-Phe and the 34 min peak contained a degradative fragment of the alpha-chain of hemoglobin. Our data suggest that the immunosuppressive T treatment of B10 mice induces a perturbation of erythrophagocytosis in spleens.