Regulatory effects of noradrenalin and corticosterone on the antibody-forming response of cultured spleen cells from SAMP1 mice

We investigated the regulatory effects of noradrenalin (NA) and corticosterone (CS) on the antibody-forming response against ovalbumin (OVA) of cultured mouse spleen cells. SAMP1 and C3H/He mice were immunized with two intraperitoneal injections of OVA with alum adjuvant. Spleen cells primed to OVA were then cultured with OVA in the presence of varying concentrations of NA. NA showed significant dose-dependent regulatory effects on the response of the C3H/He spleen cells, augmenting and suppressing the anti-OVA antibody production of both IgGs and IgAs at concentrations of 3.0×10−5 and 3.0×10−4 M, respectively. In contrast, NA at any concentration tested showed little effect on the antibody response of SAMP1 spleen cells. CS suppressed the antibody response of C3H/He spleen cells in a dose-dependent manner between 1.0×10−7 and 1.0×10−5 M, but the antibody response of SAMP1 spleen cells was not significantly altered by the same concentration of CS. These results suggest that the T-helper-dependent antibody-forming system in SAMP1 mice has defective response to regulatory signals from the neuroendocrine system.