The effect of two glucan carboxymethyl derivatives with various substitution degrees on cyclophosphamide immunosuppression in mice.

Carboxymethylglucan (CMG) in two different degrees of substitution of carboxymethyl groups (0.56 and 0.89) was administered to cyclophosphamide (CY) treated (200 mg/kg) C57B1/6 mice in three doses (10, 50, and 100 mg/kg) 24 h after CY. The influence of CMG administration on the cell suppression caused by CY was observed in the subsequent days. The cellularity of spleen, bone marrow and peripheral blood was quantified on days 2, 5, 8, 11, 15, and 21 after CY treatment. CY treated mice developed a significant decrease in peripheral blood cell counts, and spleen and bone marrow cellularity during the initial 5 days, followed by recovery in the next 15 days, with an overshoot reaction in spleen cellularity and erythrocyte levels. The initial cellularity depression and the following recovery was modified by both carboxymethyl derivatives of glucan. Cyclophosphamide treated mice exhibited less pronounced immunosuppression and more rapid hematopoietic recovery when administered with CMG, although this reaction was only of a modest degree. The effects were not dose dependent and the differences between the two glucans were not significant.