The paradoxical effects of diethyldithiocarbamate: comparisons between New Zealand black/white F1 hybrid and Balb/c mice

Diethyldithiocarbamate (DTC), an immunomodulative agent suggested to enhance T cells, has been shown to prolong life in autoimmune MRL-lpr/lpr mice. In addition to increased survival, MRL-lpr/lpr mice treated with DTC displayed a number of changes in expression of cell surface antigens as well as decreased serum autoantibody levels. To determine if DTC treatment would have similar positive effects on another murine model of autoimmune disease, we studied the New Zealand Black/White F1 hybrid (NZB/W). In addition, the effects of DTC treatment on cell surface antigen expression were compared between the NZB/W and a normal murine strain, the Balb/c. DTC treatment increased the density of cell surface antigens in the NZB/W, but decreased the density of these antigens in the Balb/c. Treatment with DTC induced distinct changes in the percentage of cells expressing specific surface antigens that differed between the NZB/W and the Balb/c. There was no affect on serum anti-DNA and anti-histone antibody levels or on survival in NZB/W mice treated with DTC. Therefore, while DTC treatment did not successfully influence the disease course in the NZB/W, it did result in specific changes in cell surface antigens. These data demonstrate that DTC is capable of inducing a variety of immunologic changes depending upon the strain treated.