Natural host defence during oncogenesis. NK activity and dimethylbenzanthracene carcinogenesis.

In this study we determined the effect of administering the chemical carcinogen dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA) on NK activity mediated by murine splenocytes. The intragastric administration of six weekly 1-mg doses of DMBA to 2- to 3-month-old mice either following a pituitary graft or not, resulted in a tumor incidence which was higher than 60%. The cellularity of the spleens decreased significantly after the third DMBA feeding and the NK activity of these spleens was selectively suppressed. There was no spontaneous reconstitution of the NK activity following cessation of DMBA treatment and during the entire tumor-free period. The adoptive transfer of normal bone marrow, thymus or spleen cells did not restore NK activity in DMBA-treated mice. The NK activity of DMBA-fed mice could be augmented by interferon and by interferon inducers such as poly I:C and dsRNA from Ustilago virus. The effect of these biological response modifiers on NK activity was short-lived but it was possible to restimulate this activity every 24 h. Consecutive treatments of DMBA-fed mice with poly I:C maintained a high level of NK activity for at least 3 weeks.