The effect of cholinergic substances on the development of delayed hypersensitivity

: The formation of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to ram erythrocytes was studied in BALB/c mice on different models during cholinergic stimulation induced by armin (0.3 mg/kg) and a M-cholinolytic atropine (50 mg/kg). The relationship between the formation of this reaction and the contents of T-lymphocytes and T-suppressors in the spleen and peripheral blood was also investigated. When administered one hour before immunization by ram erythrocytes, armin was shown to reduce the formation of DTH. Under the same conditions atropine failed to influence DTH reaction. In the local adoptive DTH armin increases and atropine decreases the reaction formation. The character of DTH on different models is related mainly to the specific features of migration of T-suppressors from the spleen and their content in peripheral blood.