title: HLA-B8,DR3 T cell impairment is completely restored by in vitro treatment with interleukin-2.
abstract: The activity of recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) on the in vitro lymphocyte proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin mitogen was investigated in healthy HLA-B8,DR3 positive and negative subjects. The response to mitogen, significantly decreased in HLA-B8,DR3 positive subjects, was completely restored by adding rIL-2. Moreover, in HLA-B8,DR3 positive subjects the in vitro treatment with rIL-2 significantly increased the reduced frequency of mitogen responsive T lymphocyte precursors, as assessed by limiting dilution analysis. These data suggest that a decrease in the size of the pool of T cell precursors able to produce IL-2 is responsible for the impairment of T cell function observed in HLA-B8,DR3 positive subjects. Since in autoimmune diseases it is possible to show the same impairment(s) of T cell functions which can be observed in HLA-B8,DR3 positive subjects, these results could be of practical value for the understanding of pathogenetic mechanism(s) of autoimmune diseases and, in case, for therapeutical purposes.
authors.affiliation: Servizio di Immunologia Tissutale, Università di Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Candore
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Colucci
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Modica
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caruso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015795:HLA-B8 Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D015803:HLA-DR3 Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015795:HLA-B8 Antigen; D015803:HLA-DR3 Antigen; D007376:Interleukin-2; D011994:Recombinant Proteins