Concurrent cell-mediated immunity and immediate hypersensitivity in animal model.

Drug induced allergic reactions in treated patients are sometimes accompanied by laboratory evidence of a simultaneous drug-specific humoral and cellular immunity. The relationship between the two types of immune response was studied in an experimental model. In the present studies ICR mice were sensitized with horse serum to induce an anaphylactic shock. Macrophage migration inhibition factor (MIF) test, which is an in vitro correlate for cell-mediated immunity (CMI), was performed with the animal's lymphocytes against horse serum. A significant inhibition in the macrophage migration was observed in the sensitized mice as compared to the control group. No significant difference was observed between the migration index of the mice that suffered fatal anaphylactic shock and those with milder symptoms that survived it. The demonstration of a positive MIF in an immediate type allergic reaction does not necessarily indicate a direct involvement of the CMI system in the production of clinical manifestations, although the MIF test may be clinically useful for diagnostic purposes, even in immediate hypersensitivity cases.