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Antibodies to guinea pig lymphokines. II. Suppression of delayed hypersensitivity reactions by a "second generation" goat antibody against guinea pig lymphokines.

A "second generation" antibody to a highly purified lymphocyte product was raised in a goat against material eluted from a rabbit anti-guinea pig lymphokine immunoadsorbent column. This anti-lymphokine serum, in constrast to anti-lymphocyte serum (ALS) did not appear to contain cytotoxic antibodies directed against membrane antigens on guinea pig lymph node lymphocytes. Furthermore, the anti-lymphokine serum did not inhibit the formation of spontaneous T rosettes nor significantly depress lymphocyte response to mitogens. The anti-lymphokine serum totally suppressed the delayed skin reactivity to PPD and contact sensitivity to DNCB when injected intradermally around the site of antigen challenge. By contrast, intradermally injected ALS did not appear to suppress the PPD response in sensitized guinea pigs. Intravenously and i.p. administered anti-lymphokine serum was somewhat less effective in suppressing the delayed skin response to PPD. The intradermal injection of the antiserum had no effect on nonspecific inflammation evoked by turpentine-olive oil or on the extravasation of circulating Evans blue evoked by intradermally injected histamine. Histologic examination of 24-hr DNCB-induced skin lesions from sensitized guinea pigs treated with intradermally injected anti-lymphokine serum showed marked reduction of mononuclear infiltration of the dermis and of epidermal lesions, as compared with skin sites taken from sensitized animals pretreated with normal goat serum. The anti-lymphokine serum injected i.v. also markedly reduced the perivascular infiltration of the dermis and subcutis in skin reaction sites from sensitized animals challenged with PPD. Intravenous treatment with ALS for 3 consecutive days caused extensive depletion of the paracortical areas of peripheral lymph nodes whereas treatment with normal serum and anti-lymphokine serum caused no such depletion. It is proposed that the anti-lymphokine serum is directed against activated lymphocyte products, one of them being MIF. These products are involved in the mediation of delayed hypersensitivity reactions. This is in marked contrast to ALS, the suppressive action of which appears to be central rather than peripheral.

Animals↗

Enhanced lymphokine production and lymphokine receptor expression in multiple antibody-stimulated human CD4+ peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Treatment of T lymphocytes with antibodies directed against the T cell receptor CD3 complex results in cellular activation that can be augmented by costimulation through other cell surface receptors. The activities of anti-CD3-stimulated human CD4+ PBL were compared to anti-CD3 plus anti-CD2-, anti-CD4-, or anti-CD11a (LFA-1)-stimulated cells. [3H]thymidine incorporation, lymphokine receptor expression, expansion of cell numbers, and lymphokine mRNA and protein were measured. Forty-eight hours after activation, costimulated CD4+ cells demonstrated increased numbers of cells positive for surface IL-2R alpha-chain, IL-2R beta-chain, IFN-gamma receptors, and TNF-alpha receptors. By day 6, costimulated cells exhibited a sevenfold greater expansion in cell numbers compared to cells stimulated with anti-CD3 alone. Anti-CD3 plus anti-CD11a stimulation consistently induced the highest secretion of IL-2 and IFN-gamma, whereas variation in secretion of TNF-alpha and IL-4 between different donors was noted. Analysis of lymphokine receptor mRNA demonstrated increased levels of mRNA for IL-2R alpha-chain and IFN-gamma receptor that preceded the phenotypic changes on the cell surface. In contrast, levels of IL-2R beta-chain and the TNF-alpha receptor mRNA decreased after stimulation. Amounts of IL-2, IL-4, and TNF-alpha, but not IFN-gamma, secreted also correlated with the levels of mRNA measured in the cells. Although costimulation through CD2, CD4, or LFA-1 appeared equally effective for the induction of the lymphokine receptors, these additional stimuli had a different impact on lymphokine secretion. These results indicate that specific control of lymphokine secretion and receptor induction can be another function of the CD2, CD4, and CD11a cell surface receptors. This control is evident at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels.

Antibodies↗

The production of lymphokines by primary alloreactive T-cell clones: a co-ordinate analysis of 233 clones in seven lymphokine assays.

A total of 233 primary alloreactive T-cell clones have been tested for the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-3 (IL-3), immune(gamma) interferon (IFN) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF-2), B-cell growth factor I and II (BCGFI, BCGFII), and eosinophil differentiation factor (EDF). EDF was assayed by means of the eosinophil differentiation assay (EDA). Two principal correlations were observed: IL-3 was shown to be the major lymphokine detected in the bone marrow proliferation assay (BMPA) used to detect CSF-2, and there was a high correlation between the EDA and BCGFII. Subsequent work has suggested that this latter correlation is because a single factor is responsible for both activities. Apart from these two exceptions, and low level correlations probably due to the fact that different assays detect more than one lymphokine, there was no evidence for co-ordinate expression of lymphokines. There was a large variation in amounts of individual lymphokines produced. More clones produced multiple lymphokines than would be expected from independent control. Taken together, this pattern of regulation is consistent with the hypothesis that antigen stimulation of T cells results in the activation of all the lymphokine genes, but the amount of each produced is determined by secondary controlling mechanisms.

Animals↗

Killing of intracellular Leishmania donovani by lymphokine-stimulated human mononuclear phagocytes. Evidence that interferon-gamma is the activating lymphokine.

We have found that the crude lymphokines, which prime the human monocyte-derived macrophage to generate H2O2 and exert microbicidal activity against intracellular Leishmania donovani, are rich in interferon (IFN)-gamma (600-3,000 U/ml). To determine the role of this specific lymphocyte product in macrophage activation, lymphokines were pretreated with a monoclonal antibody that neutralizes human IFN-gamma. Antibody exposure completely abolished the capacity of both mitogen- and antigen-stimulated lymphokines to either enhance macrophage H2O2 release or induce leishmanicidal activity. In addition, partially purified and pure recombinant human IFN-gamma were as effective as crude lymphokines in activating macrophages, and 3 d of treatment with 300 U/ml resulted in a seven- to eightfold increase in H2O2 generation and the intracellular killing of both L. donovani promastigotes and amastigotes. The ability of crude lymphokines to induce monocytes and macrophages from a patient with chronic granulomatous disease to kill L. donovani promastigotes was similarly abrogated by anti-IFN-gamma antibody, and could also be achieved by IFN-gamma alone. These results suggest that IFN-gamma is the key macrophage-activating molecule present within human lymphokines, and indicate that IFN-gamma can enhance both the oxygen-dependent and -independent antiprotozoal mechanisms of human mononuclear phagocytes.

Antibodies↗

A lymphokine, provisionally designated interleukin T and produced by a human adult T-cell leukemia line, stimulates T-cell proliferation and the induction of lymphokine-activated killer cells.

In early phases of human T-cell lymphotrophic virus I-induced adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), the malignant cell proliferation is associated with an autocrine process involving coordinate expression of interleukin (IL) 2 and its receptor. However, during late-phase ATL, leukemic cells no longer produce IL-2 yet continue to express high-affinity IL-2 receptors. During studies to define pathogenic mechanisms that underlie this IL-2-independent proliferation, we demonstrated that the ATL cell line HuT-102 secretes a lymphokine, provisionally designated IL-T, that stimulates T-cell proliferation and the induction of lymphokine-activated killer cells. Conditioned medium from HuT-102, when added to the IL-2-dependent CTLL-2 line, yielded a stimulation index of 230. Since CTLL-2 was purported to be IL-2-specific, we performed a number of studies to exclude IL-2 production by HuT-102. Stimulation of CTLL-2 cells by HuT-102-conditioned medium was not meaningfully inhibited by addition of an antiserum to IL-2. Furthermore, uninduced HuT-102 cells did not express mRNA encoding IL-2 as assessed by Northern blot analysis. No biological activity on CTLL-2 cells was mediated by purified IL-1, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, or granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor, thus differentiating these factors from IL-T. Based on preliminary biochemical data, IL-T is a protein with a pI value of 4.5 and a molecular mass in SDS gels of 14 kDa. In addition to its action on CTLL-2 cells, 3200-fold-purified IL-T stimulated proliferation of the human cytokine-dependent T-cell line Kit-225. Furthermore, addition of IL-T enhanced cytotoxic activity of large granular lymphocytes (i.e., induced lymphokine-activated killer cells). Thus, IL-T is a lymphokine that plays a role in T-cell proliferation and induction of lymphokine-activated killer cells. Furthermore, IL-T may contribute to IL-2-independent proliferation of select ATL cells and lines.

Animals↗

Heterogeneity of helper/inducer T lymphocytes. I. Lymphokine production and lymphokine responsiveness.

Antigen-specific, Ia-restricted helper/inducer T lymphocytes consist of subsets that can be distinguished by lymphokine secretion. One, called Th1, secretes IL-2 and the other, termed Th2, produces BSF-1/IL-4 in response to stimulation by lectin or antigen receptor signals, and each uses the respective lymphokine as its autocrine growth factor. Cloned lines representing Th2 cells proliferate in response to both IL-2 and their autocrine lymphokine, BSF-1/IL-4, but this proliferation is dependent on the synergistic costimulator activity of the monokine, IL-1. In contrast, Th1 clones proliferate only in response to IL-2, are unresponsive to BSF-1/IL-4, and their growth is unaffected by IL-1. These response patterns are not attributable to variations in culture conditions but apparently reflect intrinsic properties of the two T cell subsets. Moreover, the unresponsiveness of Th1 cells to BSF-1/IL-4 may be related to lower levels of expression of surface receptors for this lymphokine. These results may explain the observed heterogeneity among bulk populations of T cells in terms of lymphokine responsiveness and requirement for accessory factors (costimulators). In addition, our findings suggest that IL-2, unlike BSF-1/IL-4, is a fully competent growth factor that is potentially involved in antigen-independent expansion of bystander T cells present at sites of immune stimulation.

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Lymphokine synthesis in vivo in an acute murine graft-versus-host reaction: mRNA and protein measurements in vivo and in vitro reveal marked differences between actual and potential lymphokine production levels.

The in vivo activation of lymphokine-producing cells was analyzed in the first 7 days of an acute graft-versus-host reaction (GVHR) induced by injection of C57BL/6 spleen cells into irradiated DBA/2 mice. Although the GVHR was accompanied by a 1000-fold increase in serum IL-6 titers, circulating levels of other lymphokines were low (IL-3, IFN-gamma, and GM-CSF) or undetectable (IL-2 and IL-4). Spleen and lymph node cells from these mice nevertheless produced elevated levels of IL-3, IFN-gamma, GM-CSF, and IL-6 when cultured for 24 h without stimulation; culture with anti-CD3 antibody further increased IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IFN-gamma, and GM-CSF production by at least 20-fold. Both constitutive and anti-CD3-induced synthesis of all the lymphokines was mediated by CD3+ cells. Messenger RNA analyses revealed the presence of IL-6, IFN-gamma, and GM-CSF transcripts in freshly harvested GVHR spleen cells and increased expression of IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IFN-gamma, and GM-CSF mRNAs following anti-CD3 stimulation in vitro. In vivo, however, IL-3 mRNA was barely detectable even following cDNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction. In vivo restimulation of day 5 GVHR mice by injection of concanavalin A enhanced expression of IL-3, IL-6, IFN-gamma, and GM-CSF mRNAs and markedly increased serum titers of the corresponding lymphokines, which peaked 6-12 h after injection at levels at least 10- to 100-fold higher than in concanavalin A-treated normal mice.2+ for high-level synthesis of all these lymphokines.

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A human lymphokine activates macrophage C3 receptors for phagocytosis: studies using monoclonal anti-lymphokine antibodies.

We have identified a human T lymphocyte cell line, the Mo line, that constitutively elaborates a lymphokine that activates macrophage receptors for the third complement component (C3) for phagocytosis. The molecule is physically, functionally, and immunologically very similar, if not identical, to a previously characterized murine lymphokine. Both molecules were inactivated by the same physical and chemical treatments, activated macrophage C3 receptors for phagocytosis, and freed macrophage C3 receptors to move within the cell's plasma membrane. In addition, both the human and the murine products were recognized by the same monoclonal antibodies. Treatment with monoclonal antibodies abolished both the ability of lymphokine-containing supernatants to mobilize macrophage C3 receptors and the supernatants' ability to activate C3 receptor-mediated phagocytosis. The dose-response curves for both effects of the antibodies were identical, strongly suggesting that a single molecule was responsible for both effects and that the lymphokine activated marophage C3 receptors for phagocytosis by freeing the anchored receptors and allowing them to diffuse within the cell's plasma membrane. These findings strengthen the hypothesis that, for a receptor to promote phagocytosis, it must be able to diffuse within the macrophage plasma membrane.

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Coordinate production by a T cell hybridoma of gamma interferon and three other lymphokine activities: multiple activities of a single lymphokine?

The T cell hybridoma FS7-20, produced by the fusion of normal B10.BR T cells to the AKR thymoma BW5147, was found when stimulated with concanavalin A (Con A) to produce the lymphokines: interleukin 2 (IL 2), interferon-gamma (IFN gamma), macrophage-activating factor (MAF), Ia induction factor IaIF), and the B cell helper factor interleukin X (IL X). The clones and subclones of FS7-20 varied dramatically in their ability to produce these lymphokines, presumably because of karyotypic variations. The ability to produce IL 2 segregated independently from the ability to produce the four other lymphokine activities; however, production of the latter activities showed a strong correlation. This coordinate production of IFN gamma, MAF, IaIF, and IL X was also observed with a cloned normal cytotoxic T cell line, cr15. These results suggest either that IFN gamma, MAF, IaIF, and IL X are all manifestations of a single molecular species or that, although these activities are different structurally, their production is controlled by a common genetic mechanism. In support of the first possibility, the IFN gamma, MAF, IaIF, and IL X activity produced by FS7-20 were all found to be equally sensitive to inactivation at pH 2. These results illustrate the usefulness of using T cell hybridomas for the study of lymphokines.

Animals↗

B cell maturation factor (BMF): a lymphokine or family of lymphokines promoting the maturation of B lymphocytes.

Two in vitro B cell tumor lines have been used to characterize and partially purify a lymphokine, or family of lymphokines, from monoclonal helper T cell immune response supernatants. These lymphokines induce the pre-B-like 70Z/3 tumor cell to synthesize Ig L chains and express complete Ig molecules on its cell surface, and cause the mature B cell-like WEHI-279 tumor cell to increase its ratio of secretory to membrane mu production, begin high rate Ig secretion, and then die. Most of the activity responsible for these changes co-purifies during five different separation procedures, implying the existence of a discrete molecule or closely related class of molecules able to mediate all of these effects. The molecules active in these systems appear distinct from the other lymphokines IL 1, IL 2, G/M-CSA, TRF, IFN, BCGF, and the activity variously termed IL 3/BPA/PSF/HCGF/MCGF, etc. We call these B cell-differentiating molecules BMF, or B cell maturation factor(s). The BMF molecules are mildly acidic (pI 5 to 6 in various conditions), extremely hydrophobic, probably heterogeneously glycosylated glycoproteins, with an apparent m.w. of 50,000 to 55,000 by gel permeation chromatography and 16,000 by SDS-PAGE. BMF has been purified approximately 3000-fold by three sequential chromatographic steps, with the use of the B tumor line assay systems. BMF molecules thus purified also cause normal resting splenic B cells to mature to the state of active Ig secretion.

Animals↗

Prostaglandin E2 inhibits production of Th1 lymphokines but not of Th2 lymphokines.

PGE2 is known to inhibit IL-2 and IFN-gamma production from Th cells and is widely viewed as a general immunosuppressant. However, PGE2 was found not to inhibit IL-4 production from Th2 clones, and IL-5 production from these clones was slightly enhanced. The same results were obtained with short term T cell lines, which indicates that the lack of inhibition of IL-4 and IL-5 production by PGE2 is a general phenomenon. PGE2 functions by increasing cAMP levels through activation of adenylate cyclase. Despite its failure to inhibit lymphokine release, PGE2 was capable of increasing cAMP levels in Th2 cells, and forskolin, a direct activator of adenylate cyclase, also did not inhibit IL-4 or IL-5 production. These data indicate that the failure of PGE2 to inhibit IL-4 and IL-5 production was not due to an inability of PGE2 to induce an increase in intracellular cAMP, and suggested instead that the expression of IL-4 and IL-5 in Th2 cells is insensitive to elevated cAMP levels. When Th0 clones were examined, PGE2 was again found to differentially affect IL-2 and IL-4 production in three of five clones tested. In two additional Th0 clones, both IL-2 and IL-4 production were inhibited. These data suggest that lymphokine production may be regulated on two different levels. First, Th1- and Th2-associated lymphokines may be differentially sensitive to intracellular signals such as cAMP. Second, T cell subsets may exist, including subsets of Th0 cells, with different signaling pathways. In addition, our data suggest that PGE2 may play an important role in regulating the development of a response dominated by Th1- or Th2-associated lymphokines.

Animals↗

Eosinophil chemotactic lymphokine produced by spleen cells of Schistosoma japonicum-infected mice. II. Physicochemical heterogeneity of eosinophil chemotactic lymphokines selective to bone marrow- or peritoneal exudate-eosinophils.

The physicochemical nature of eosinophil chemotactic factor (ECF) was examined by using different maturation stages of eosinophils, namely eosinophils obtained from bone marrow (BM-Eo) and those obtained from peritoneal cavity (PEC-Eo), as the indicator of in vitro chemotaxis. As the ECF source, the conditioned medium of the culture of spleen cells obtained from Schistosoma japonicum-infected mice was used. When the conditioned medium was chromatographed by Sephadex G75, apparent molecular weight of ECF activity against BM-Eo was 15,000, whereas that against PEC-Eo was 30,000. Similar results were obtained when the conditioned medium was chromatographed by high-pressure liquid chromatography using SW3000 column. After NaCl-linear gradient elution of DE52 anion-exchange chromatography of the conditioned medium, ECF activity against PEC-Eo was detected at the 0.1 M NaCl region of the gradient, whereas that against BM-Eo was detected at around the 0.14 M NaCl region. After isoelectric focusing, however, ECF activity against BM-Eo and PEC-Eo was detected at the same position, approximately pH 3.6. The results of surface phenotype analysis show that the cells responsible for the production of two types of ECF lymphokines are both Thy-1.2+, Lyt-1.2-, Lyt-2.2+. When ECF activity in the conditioned medium of antigen-specific T cell clones was examined, 6 out of 7 clones produce ECF lymphokine relatively selective to PEC-Eo, whereas one clone produce ECF lymphokine relatively selective to BM-Eo. These results suggest that physicochemically different ECF lymphokines selective to different maturation stages of eosinophils are involved in the mediation of eosinophilia.

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Lymphokine-induced cytotoxicity: requirement of two lymphokines for the induction of optimal cytotoxic response.

Lymphokines induce the generation of cytotoxic cells (LICC) in the absence of antigenic or mitogenic stimulation. In the present study, we have demonstrated that at least two lymphokines are involved. They are interleukin 2-conditioned medium (CM-IL 2), which was produced by W/Fu rat spleen cells cultured with concanavalin A-conjugated Sepharose beads, and cytotoxic cell differentiation factor-conditioned medium (CM-CCDF), which was produced primarily by the unstimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages. It was first established that CCDF synergized with IL 2 to induce the generation of LICC in normal spleen cells, and that this process was specifically blocked by the rat anti-IL 2 receptor monoclonal antibody. The maximal synergistic effect was obtained by using 10% CM-CCDF (v/v) and 0.1 to 0.3 U/ml of CM-IL 2. Higher doses of IL 2 (3 to 10 U/ml) reduced the cytotoxic response. The effectors of LICC were Thy-1+, Lyt-2- and AGM1-; therefore, they were neither classic CTL nor NK cells. The precursors were AGM1+, Lyt-2- cells that were consistent of being NK-like cells. When examining the temporal relationship between CCDF and IL 2, we found that 4 hr preincubation of the responders with IL 2 was sufficient to activate the cytotoxic precursor cells. CCDF was needed later for the differentiation of the activated precursors into cytotoxic effectors. In contrast, preincubation of the responders with CCDF, followed by additional incubation with IL 2, failed to induce any cytotoxic response. These results established that lymphokine-induced cytotoxicity can be separated into two phases. In the activation phase, IL 2 provides the first signal to activate the cytotoxic precursors, with the process being completed in 4 hr. In the differentiation phase, CCDF provides the second signal to induce the differentiation of the IL 2-activated precursors into cytotoxic effectors, with this process requiring 48 hr to complete. The sequential presence of these lymphokines at an appropriate time during the activation and differentiation phases is critical for the generation of LICC response.

Animals↗

T cells in inductive and effector compartments of the intestinal mucosal immune system of nonhuman primates differ in lymphokine mRNA expression, lymphokine utilization, and regulatory function.

To define further the basis of T cell function in the inductive and effector limbs of the normal intestinal immune system, the capacity of mucosal lymphocytes to produce and use lymphokines and their effects on regulation of Ig production were determined in normal nonhuman primates. Northern blots of RNA from mitogen-activated lamina propria T cells contained more mRNA for IL-2 and IFN-gamma than did mesenteric lymph node T cells. In comparison with lymphocytes from peripheral sites, there was high expression of IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA in both mesenteric lymph node and lamina propria T cells. In studies of lymphokine utilization, T cells from lamina propria had high IL-2-induced but no IL-4-induced proliferative responses. In contrast, mesenteric lymph node T cells had high IL-4-induced and lower IL-2-induced proliferative responses compared with lamina propria T cells. Lamina propria T cells had higher helper activity in PWM-stimulated cultures and exhibited less inhibition by IL-4 than did mesenteric lymph node T cells. These data and previous studies suggest that T cells in an inductive site such as the mesenteric lymph node are a mixed population containing both "naive" cells with low potential for IFN-gamma and IL-2 production and differentiated cells with high potential for IL-4 and IL-5 production. In contrast, the data suggest that T cells in the effector compartment of the lamina propria are comprised primarily of differentiated "memory" cells that produce high levels of IL-2, IFN-gamma, IL-4, and IL-5, have high helper activity, and have a more limited ability to proliferate in response to lymphokines such as IL-4.

Animals↗

Regulation of lymphokine response during reinfection by influenza virus. Production of a factor that inhibits lymphokine activity.

Mononuclear cells, obtained from the spleens and lungs of influenza virus-seropositive C57BL/6 mice at 2 to 4 days after re-infection with homologous virus (strain A/Bangkok/1/79), produced a low m.w. factor in vitro that prevents the biologic expression, but not production, of the lymphokine, leukocyte migration inhibition factor (LIF). The low m.w. factor inhibited LIF activity without destroying the LIF molecule inasmuch as simple dialysis restored lymphokine activity to culture supernatants. Production of the low m.w. factor was observed from 2 to 4 days after re-infection, at which time the delayed-type hypersensitivity response to viral Ag was suppressed. In contrast, LIF was produced by splenocytes and lung mononuclear cells obtained at all times tested after re-infection (from 2 to 30 days). Production of the low m.w. factor required re-infection of influenza A virus-seropositive mice with type A virus; re-infection with influenza B virus failed to induce production. Ag specificity was also required in vitro for splenocytes to produce the factor; cells from type A virus-re-infected mice required type A Ag stimulation. Cell depletion studies with mAb plus C revealed that macrophages and T cells along with Ag stimulation were required for factor production by spleen cells. However, mononuclear cells obtained within 4 days from the lungs of re-infected mice did not require in vitro Ag stimulation for production of the low m.w. factor, and factor production was dependent upon the presence of CD4+ (L3T4) cells in the culture. Fractionation of culture supernatants over a Sephadex G-50 column indicated that the factor had a molecular mass of 2 to 3 kDa, and by FPLC chromatofocusing over a Mono P column, the factor eluted at a pH of approximately 8.2. Thus, re-exposure of influenza virus-seropositive mice to homologous virus resulted in the production of a low m.w. factor that prevented the biologic expression of LIF, but not its production. Lymphokines are an important component of the delayed-type hypersensitivity response; the presence of mononuclear cells secreting a low m.w. factor and LIF concomitantly at the site of virus replication (lungs) and the capacity of the factor to block the biologic expression of LIF in vitro suggest that the factor may have a role in the regulation of a delayed-type hypersensitivity response in vivo during re-infection.

Animals↗

Detection of lymphokines and lymphokine receptors in pulmonary sarcoidosis. Immunohistologic evidence that inflammatory macrophages express IL-2 receptors.

In an investigation of the immunopathogenesis of sarcoidosis, the authors undertook the tissue localization of those lymphokines and lymphokine receptors which are known to play a central role in T-cell and macrophage activation. Using monoclonal antibodies and an ABC immunoperoxidase technique. They determined the distribution of gamma interferon (IFN-g), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and corresponding IL-2 receptors (IL-2R), plus T cells and T cell subsets, B cells, and macrophages within thoracic lymph nodes and lung specimens of 9 patients with active pulmonary sarcoidosis. Epithelioid and multinucleate giant cells within sarcoid granulomas of all specimens showed membrane labeling for IL-2R and IFN-g, in addition to IL-2, suggesting that these cells indeed express functional IL-2 receptors. Infiltrating T cells, largely T4+, were also IL-2R+, and many showed IL-2 and IFN-g labeling. By comparison, macrophages within sections of normal lung or lymph node failed to stain for IL-2, IL-2R, or IFN-g. These immunohistologic studies extend recent in vitro observations by these authors and others that normal human blood monocytes and alveolar macrophages are induced by IFN-g or IL-2 to express functional membrane-bound IL-2 receptors. The in vivo expression of IL-2R by mononuclear phagocytes in pulmonary sarcoidosis is demonstrated, and a new role is suggested for T-cell-derived lymphokines in macrophage activation.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

An eosinophil chemotactic lymphokine in the supernatant of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell culture: relationship to interleukin-5.

The administration of interleukin-2 (IL-2) systemically or locally to cancer patients, either alone or in combination with lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, frequently results in eosinophilia. To investigate the mechanism of such eosinophil accumulation, we measured in vitro eosinophil chemotactic activity (ECA) in the supernatant of LAK cell cultures by a modified Boyden's chamber method. Consequently, a potent and specific ECA was found in the cell-free supernatant of LAK cell cultures. On the other hand, no ECA was found in the supernatant of normal lymphocyte cultures, nor in IL-2 itself. This activity plateaued when 3 x 10(6) lymphocytes were incubated with 1000 U/ml IL-2 for more than 3 days. Sephadex G-100 gel chromatography indicated that the molecular weight of this eosinophil chemotactic factor (ECF) was approximately 45,000 Da. The ECF was stable when heated to 56 degrees C for 30 min but was inactivated by trypsin, indicating that the ECF is a lymphokine which has very similar characteristics to those of IL-5. Using ELISA for hIL-5, the IL-5 level in the supernatant of LAK cell cultures increased dose dependently with increasing IL-2 concentrations. These results suggest that IL-5 may be responsible for the local recruitment of eosinophils in IL-2/LAK therapy.

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