Effects of oil-treated mycobacterial cell walls on the organs of mice.

Intravenous vaccination of mice with oil-treated mycobacterial cell walls resulted in a marked macrophage accumulation in the lungs and spleens of vaccinated animals. Injection of oil emulsion alone or of cell walls alone failed to elicit the macrophage response. Although a correlation existed between the magnitude of the macrophage response and the degree of immunity against aerosol challenge with H(37)Rv organisms, the findings presented here do not rule out the possibility that qualitative differences may be present in the macrophages of animals vaccinated against tuberculosis. The ability of oil-treated cell walls to elicit an immune response appeared to be a function of the physical association of cell wall fragments and the surface of oil droplets.