Anergy for delayed-type hypersensitivity in preleukemic AKR mice.

A singular anergy for delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) in preleukemic AKR mice was discovered. This total anergy for DTH against allogeneic cells, which developed in the AKR mice by 4 to 5 months of age, was not due to an artifact of route of sensitization or of other assay parameters and was not found in other strains sharing H-2 or other genetic background. The mice had an intact capacity to be stimulated in mixed lymphocyte culture to produce cytotoxic effector cells. Although the relationship to lymphoma was not directly addressed in these experiments, the genetic and temporal characteristics of this anergy suggest a biologically important relationship to the preleukemic state.