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PROMOTING EFFECT OF BEER AND ETHANOL ON ANTI‐TUMOUR CYTOTOXICITY: UNAFFECTED GROWTH OF A TRANSPLANTABLE RAT TUMOUR
Author(s) -
Autelitano Dominic J,
Howarth Andrew E,
Pihl Eric
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
australian journal of experimental biology and medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0004-945X
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1984.47
Subject(s) - cytotoxicity , antibody dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity , ethanol , cytotoxic t cell , lymphocyte , alcohol , monoclonal antibody , immunology , chemistry , cancer research , antibody , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , pharmacology , in vitro , biochemistry
Summary The effects of beer and alcohol (4·8% ethanol v/v) were studied on (i) the growth of a syngeneic colonic carcinoma transplantable in male D/A rats, (ii) levels of blood B and T‐lymphocyte classes, (iii) antibody‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), and (iv) direct lymphocyte anti‐tumour cytotoxicity. Beer and alcohol had no effect on tumour growth, but led to significant increases in non‐specific anti‐tumour cytotoxicity in the levels of blood lymphocytes labelled by the monoclonal antibody OX/8 (cytotoxic/suppressor cells) and in the levels of total T‐lymphocytes; ADCC was not affected. It is concluded that alcohol stimulates non‐specific cell‐mediated immunity (CMI) but that it either does not affect tumour growth or that the increased CMI is compensatory for a tumour‐growth stimulatory effect of alcohol.