Regulation of delayed-hypersensitivity response by the submandibular gland of male mice.

This study was performed to determine whether the removal of submandibular gland (SG) of mice influences the delayed-hypersensitivity (DH) response. The removal of the SG increased the weights of thymus and spleen and enhanced DH response, only in males and not in females. The injection of crude extract of male mouse SG returned the enhanced DH response of SG-ectomized males to the normal level whereas the injections of crude extracts of female or castrated male mouse SG was not affected. These results suggested that SG of male mice contains an endocrine factor(s) to regulate DH response.