THE EFFECT OF 2 GLUCAN CARBOXYMETHYL DERIVATIVES WITH VARIOUS SUBSTITUTION DEGREES ON CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE IMMUNOSUPPRESSION IN MICE

Carboxymethylglucan (CMG)1 in two different degrees of substitution of carboxymethyl groups (0.56 and 0.89) was administered to cyclophosham ide (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 c ell suppression caused by CY was observed in the subsequent. days. The cellularity of spleen, bone marrow and peripheral blood was quantifie d 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 depressio n and the following recovery was modified by both carboxymethyl deriva tives of glucan. Cyclophosphamide, treated mice exhibited less pronoun ced immunosuppression and more rapid hematopoietic recovery when admin istered with CMG, althought this reaction was only of a modest degree. The effects were not dose dependent and the differences between the t wo glucans were not significant.