Human alveolar macrophages of anergic patients with lung cancer lack the responsiveness to recombinant interferon gamma.
We studied the effect of recombinant interferon gamma (rIFN-gamma) on the phagocytic and bactericidal actions in human alveolar macrophages (AM) of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer. Treatment with 100 or 1,000 U/ml of rIFN-gamma for 24 hours resulted in an increased percentage of AM ingesting bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and an increased number of ingested BCG in individual AM in tuberculin-positive patients with lung cancer and pulmonary tuberculosis. The rIFN-gamma treatment also showed increased killing activity of AM in tuberculin-positive patients. However, rIFN-gamma treatment of AM in tuberculin-negative anergic patients with lung cancer did not induce the increase of phagocytic and killing activities against BCG. These results suggest that responsiveness and activation of AM to rIFN-gamma are inhibited in the anergic environment.
Kawatsu
H
H
First Department of Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Hasegawa
Y
Y
Takagi
E
E
Shimokata
K
K
D000368:Aged; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000276:immunology; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000473:pathology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014373:Tuberculin / Q000276:immunology; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
D001500:BCG Vaccine; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014373:Tuberculin; D007371:Interferon-gamma