Alteration of cell-mediated immunity in the mouse following administration of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide.

The effect of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide on the cell-mediated immune response was tested in C57BL/6 female mice. The carcinogen was administered s.c. either 30 days before or just prior to grafting the female recipients with C57BL/6 male skin. Skin graft survival times were noticeably prolonged in mice that received the carcinogen 30 days before grafting. Administration of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide just prior to skin grafting, however, yielded an unexpected result in that this group of mice rejected their grafts much sooner than their controls. The cause of this accelerated rejection is not presently known. The tumors that arose following s.c. implantation of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide pellets were moderately to highly immunogeneic and had a short latent period. In this respect they are comparable to tumors induced with the polycyclic hydrocarbon carcinogens.