The relative toxicity of metal salts to immune hemolysis in a mixture of antibody-secreting spleen cells, sheep red blood cells and complement.

The relative toxicity of metal salts was examined using a mixture of antibody-secreting spleen cells, sheep red blood cells and complement. The amount of immune hemolysis in the mixture was reduced by mercuric chloride, methylmercuric chloride and nickel chloride at concentrations of 14 microM or more, by sodium selenite and zinc chloride at 140 microM or more, and by sodium selenate, cadmium chloride, cadmium acetate, chromic chloride and beryllium chloride at 1400 microM. On the other hand, the amount of immune hemolysis was increased by both cadmium chloride anc cadmium acetate at concentrations of 14 and 140 microM. Mercuric chloride, methylmercuric chloride and nickel chloride were assumed to inhibit the antibody secretion of antibody-forming spleen cells.