Effects of hydroxyurea in vivo treatment on the antibody response in mice.

In the present work, we investigate the effects of hydroxyurea (HU) treatment given before antigen priming on the antibody response in the mouse. We have studied the response to both thymus-independent and thymus-dependent antigens. With both types of antigens, we have found a two- to ten-fold increase in the number of antigen-specific IgM PFC in the spleens of HU-treated primed mice. In the case of the T-dependent antigens, a simultaneous decrease in the IgG PFC response was also observed in HU-treated mice. These results suggest that major changes in the dynamic equilibrium of the cells of the immune system, induced by HU treatment, may result in different homeostatic regulation, as revealed by the modified pattern of response to exogenous antigens.