title: Interferon-alpha suppresses the capacity of T cells to help antibody production by human B cells.
abstract: This study was designed to analyze the effect of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) on the potential of T cells to help B-cell differentiation in vitro. Human splenic T cells preactivated via the T-cell receptor (TCR)/CD3 complex, as well as murine EL4 thymoma T cells preactivated with phorbol esters, stimulated human B cells via a species cross-reactive physical interaction to differentiate into antibody-producing cells. If the human or murine T cells were activated in the presence of IFN-alpha, normal proliferation and interleukin-2 (IL-2) production occurred, but the cells did not acquire any B-cell helper potential. Therefore, IFN-alpha modulates the B-cell stimulatory potential of T cells by interfering with the T-cell activation process. In contrast, IFN-alpha neither acted on B cells directly nor on already activated T cells, because it did not suppress B-cell differentiation induced by T cells preactivated in the absence of IFN-alpha. IFN-alpha did not induce the production of inhibitory T-cell factor(s), since T cells preactivated in the presence of IFN-alpha did not inhibit the interaction of B cells with T cells optimally preactivated in the absence of IFN-alpha. Taken together the data indicate that IFN-alpha suppresses the potential of T cells to stimulate B-cell differentiation by interfering with the T-cell activation process, but acts neither on B cells directly nor on already activated T cells.
authors.affiliation: Ciba-Geigy Limited, Pharmaceuticals Research Division, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brinkmann
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Heusser
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kilchherr
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Erard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D017252:CD3 Complex; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D015847:Interleukin-4; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate