The effect of various hormones on the humoral immune response of murine lymphocytes in vitro.

High sensitivity to androgen as a contributing factor in sex differences in the immune response

“…However, similar doses of estrogen are reported to depress immune responses to SRBC (21), delay the rise of peak antibody titers (59, and reduce resistance to viral (13,16,18) and bacterial (58) infections. Although it is reported that estradiol increases the number of antibody forming cells (59) and that diethylstilbesterol increases anaphylactic antibody responses (60), estrogen treatment has no effect in other assays (60,61) and is clearly suppressive in immune responses to Escherichia coli (62), type 3 pneumococcal polysaccharide (SIII) (63), SRBC (64)(65)(66), tumor cells (23), in graft rejection (48,64,65,67), in phytohemagglutinin (PHA) responses (68), in cell mediated immunity associated with resistance to Toxoplasma gondii (50), and in the delayed hypersensitivity characteristic of adjuvant polyarthritis (69). Furthermore, rather than being beneficial, estrogen when administered to neonatal (64) or sublethally irradiated (65) mice not only depresses immune responses, it results in failure to thrive, severe wasting, and death.…”