Influence of neuroleptics on cytotoxic activity of macrophages in rats.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of neuroleptics on the in vivo and in vitro activities of rat spleen macrophages. In the in vivo study, three neuroleptics (chlorpromazine, haloperidol, and sulpiride) were given once, for 14 or 28 days. In the in vitro study, we evaluated the effects of two different concentrations of the neuroleptics on 3-day cultures of spleen macrophages. Rat spleen macrophages were isolated by the adherence method, and their cytotoxic activity was determined by measuring 51 Cr release from target cells P-815. In the in vitro study, both concentrations of all neuroleptics did not alter the cytotoxic activity of macrophages. In the in vivo study, neuroleptics (chlorpromazine 2 mg/kg, haloperidol 0.5 mg/kg, sulpiride 50 mg/kg) enhanced the cytotoxicity of macrophages both after a single injection and after 14 days. The results of the study indicate that the immunomodulatory effects of the neuroleptics depend mainly on dosage and experimental conditions.