Alterations of antibody response in female mice after neonatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol.

Treatment of neonatal female mice with diethylstilbestrol (DES) resulted in a decreased number of antibody-producing cells in spleens of adult animals immunized with SRBC or LPS. Ovariectomy or ovariectomy and subsequent estradiol-treatment had no influence on the response to SRBC or LPS in DES-treated animals. Ovariectomy reduced the response to LPS in control animals, thereby abrogating the difference to DES-treated females. Estradiol treatment of the ovariectomized animals increased the response of the control animals and restored the difference between the DES-treated and control groups. It is suggested that the diminished response to T-independent antigens (LPS) in DES-treated females is a consequence of disturbances in endocrine regulation. Culture of recombinations of purified T and B lymphocytes from control and DES-treated females indicated that the diminished antibody response induced by neonatal exposure to DES was due to a defect in the T lymphocyte population. Comparison of purified whole T cell population and Lyt 1 (helper) cells from control and DES-treated females with respect to their ability to support a primary α-SRBC response in vitro indicated that the reduced helper activity of T cells from DES-treated animals is a reflection of a reduced proportion of Lyt 1 cells. No difference in suppressor activity of primed Lyt 23 cells was found.