Studies of Electrophoretic Serum Protein Patterns in Subjects Treated with Pituitary-Adrenal Cortical Hormones, Nitrogen Mustard, or X-Radiation *

Investigations during the past ten years have formed the basis for the working hypothesis that pituitary-adrenal cortical secretion exerts an influence on the structure and function of lymphoid tissue. The administration to rats of adrenal cortical extract, or of adrenal cortical steroids oxygenated in position 11 of the steroid nucleus, produced marked thymic atrophy.''" ' 2 40 448 Experiments conducted by Dougherty and White'° demonstrated that adrenal cortical secretion, regulated by the pituitary adrenotrophic hormone, is a normally existing mechanism which can affect lymphoid tissue mass. At a time when lymphoid tissue involution was maximal as a result of augmented pituitary-adrenal cortical secretion, a profound absolute lymphocytopenia was observed." Histological studies revealed 10, that the basis for these phenomena was the marked dissolution of lymphocytes in the lymphoid organs following augmented pituitaryadrenal cortical secretion. Thus, decreased lymphoid tissue weight was due to fewer lymphocytes in the lymphoid organs, and the lymphocytopenia appeared to be due to a failure of delivery of lymphocytes to the circulation because of their dissolution within the lymphoid organs. It was further established by White and Dougherty,' and confirmed by Kass,' that lymphocytes contain a protein which is identical with serum globulin. Moreover, in the immunized animal, antibody globulin was demonstrated in the lymphocytes of mice8 and of rabbits.'9 It is well known that the antibody of the blood is generally found in the /8and y-globulin fractions.'" This led to experiments which demonstrated that a single injection of adrenal cortical extract (aqueous or oil), or of adrenotrophic