Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1968 May;3(4):305–312.

Azathioprine (Immuran) administration and the development of malignant lymphomas in NZB mice

T P Casey
PMCID: PMC1578926  PMID: 4297669

Abstract

Azathioprine in doses that made NZB mice more anaemic did not cause reversal of their positive Coombs tests. When given to young NZB mice it did not delay development of the Coombs positive state.

Azathioprine had a carcinogenic effect. Six out of eight NZB mice treated from the age of 2 months developed malignant lymphomas particularly involving the thymus.

Caution is suggested in the use of immunosuppressant agents in non-malignant conditions, especially in the young, until the risk of carcinogenesis has been evaluated.

Full text

PDF
305

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. CASEY T. P., HOWIE J. B. AUTOIMMUNE HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA IN NZB/B1 MICE TREATED WITH THE CORTICOSTEROID DRUG BETAMETHASONE. Blood. 1965 Apr;25:423–431. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Doell R. G., De Vaux St Cyr C., Grabar P. Immune reactivity prior to development of thymic lymphoma in C57BL mice. Int J Cancer. 1967 Mar 15;2(2):103–108. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910020205. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. East J., de Sousa M. A., Parrott D. M. Immunopathology of New Zealand black (NZB) mice. Transplantation. 1965 Nov;3(6):711–729. doi: 10.1097/00007890-196511000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Elion G. B. Symposium on immunosuppressive drugs. Biochemistry and pharmacology of purine analogues. Fed Proc. 1967 May-Jun;26(3):898–904. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HELYER B. J., HOWIE J. B. Spontaneous auto-immune disease in NZB/BL mice. Br J Haematol. 1963 Apr;9:119–131. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1963.tb05450.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. HOLMES M. C., BURNET F. M. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE IN NZB MICE. A COMPARISON WITH THE PATTERN OF HUMAN AUTOIMMUNE MANIFESTATIONS. Ann Intern Med. 1963 Sep;59:265–276. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-59-3-265. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Haines R. F., Johnson A. G., Petering H. G. Symposium on immunosuppressive drugs. Variable influences of antitumor drugs and progestational agents on immune responses in rodents. Fed Proc. 1967 May-Jun;26(3):934–943. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Karnofsky D. A. Symposium on immunosuppressive drugs. Late effects of immunosuppressive anticancer drugs. Fed Proc. 1967 May-Jun;26(3):925–933. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. LENDRUM A. C., FRASER D. S., SLIDDERS W., HENDERSON R. Studies on the character and staining of fibrin. J Clin Pathol. 1962 Sep;15:401–413. doi: 10.1136/jcp.15.5.401. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mellors R. C. Autoimmune disease in NZB-Bl mice. II. Autoimmunity and malignant lymphoma. Blood. 1966 Apr;27(4):435–448. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. de Vries M. J., Hijmans W. Pathological changes of thymic epithelial cells and autoimmune disease in NZB, NZW and (NZB x NZW)F1 mice. Immunology. 1967 Feb;12(2):179–196. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical and Experimental Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES