Suppression of primary antibody response in genetically susceptible mice infected with Salmonella typhimurium: restoration by catalase.

Susceptible C57BL/6 mice infected with a temperature-sensitive mutant of Salmonella typhimurium exhibited a marked depression of in vivo and in vitro primary antibody response to sheep erythrocytes which persisted for several weeks. The antibody response to a T-independent antigen (TNP-polyacrylamide) was also depressed. Cell-mixing experiments indicated that spleen cells from infected animals contained adherent suppressor cells and that the functional activity of T and B cells was unaffected. The antibody response of spleen cells from infected mice was restored by the addition of catalase, suggesting that hydrogen peroxide is involved in the mechanism of suppression.