The effect of clofibrate and pyridinol carbamate on the circulating immune complexes and cellular immune response in experimental atherosclerosis.

Cholesterol-fed rabbits were treated with clofibrate, pyridinol carbamate and with both drugs simultaneously. The quantity of circulating immune complexes in the sera of the animals was measured weekly and the migration inhibition test was carried out in the 12th week of the experiment. The trend of the changes in the concentration of the immune complexes was rather similar to that of the cellular immune response. Compared with the values obtained in the control animals, in the cholesterol-fed group a markedly higher level of immune complexes and a significant migration inhibition could be detected. The administration of clofibrate or pyridinol carbamate alone had no effect on the concentration of immune complexes. Pyridinol carbamate did not influence the migration inhibition; however, it became similar to the healthy controls in the clofibrate-treated group. Simultaneous treatment with both drugs resulted in a decrease in the quantity of immune complexes and a diminution of the migration inhibition.