Studies of the relationship between adenosine deaminase and immune function.

The relationship between adenosine deaminase deficiency and immunologic responsiveness was studied in mice treated in vivo with deoxycoformycin to produce very low levels of adenosine deaminase activity in tissues. Effects of such treatment on thymocyte response to concanavalin A in vitro and on mixed cultures of splenic cells were determined. Under the conditions used, inhibition of adenosine deaminase by deoxycoformycin had no effect on the viability or responsiveness of either thymocytes or splenic cells.