Factors contributing to the decrease in concanavalin A-induced colony-stimulating factors in acute suppressive graft-versus-host disorder.

Abstract

We have recently demonstrated that IL-3 and GM-CSF content in concanavalin A--stimulated splenic cultures was severely depressed for several weeks in mice undergoing an acute graft-vs.-host reaction (GVHR). Several factors contributed to this decrease in CSF levels at different points in the first 10 weeks of GVH. Myeloid lineage cells, both GM-CFU and Mac-1+ cells, increased in the spleen during GVH weeks 3-6, and (125I)-GM-CSF binding by spleen cells increased 10 fold--hence CSF content in supernatants was probably reduced by local consumption during these weeks. During GVH weeks 3-12, levels of all T cells--and of L3T4+ T cells, in particular--were reduced, limiting production of T cell derived lymphokines. Finally, during the first six weeks of GVH, immune suppression was found in cocultures of normal F1 and GVH spleens. Furthermore, during weeks 3-5, nonspecific suppression was found, affecting CSF production not only by normal host spleens but also by parental donor or unrelated spleen cells as well.