Traxanox augments immune response to lipopolysaccharide in inbred mice: role of macrophages.

Both C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were immunized intravenously with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10 micrograms/mouse) on day 0, and hemolytic plaque forming cells (HPFC) in the spleen were assayed on day 4. Traxanox given orally at a dose of 30 mg/kg augmented the HPFC production to LPS in both mice. This agent (3-30 mg/kg) restored significantly the suppressed HPFC production to LPS in the BALB/c mice pretreated with carrageenan (0.03 mg/mouse), but did not restore it in the BALB/c mice pretreated with cyclophosphamide (25 mg/kg). The transfer of spleen adherent cells of the mice immunized with LPS and treated with traxanox to the syngeneic mice resulted in a significant increase in the HPFC production to LPS. The HPFC production to trinitrophenylated polyvinylpyrrolidone, a T cell-independent antigen was not affected by the treatment with traxanox or carrageenan. These results suggest that traxanox has a capacity to augment the immune response by affecting macrophage function.