Prevalence and specificity of the enhancing effect of three types of interleukin 2 on T cell responsiveness in 97 lepromatous leprosy patients of mixed ethnic origin.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 97 predominantly lepromatous leprosy patients and 11 control subjects were tested in a lymphoproliferative assay for response to Mycobacterium leprae (whole and sonicated), and sonicated M. vaccae, M. tuberculosis, and M. scrofulaceum, in the presence and absence of three types of interleukin 2 (IL-2) (crude, purified, and recombinant). IL-2 enhanced the response to sonicated M. tuberculosis and M. leprae organisms more often in patients than in control subjects, but not significantly so and only in a minority of patients. This effect was significantly more common (though still only found in a minority of 46%) using M. leprae organisms as antigen, than when using sonicates of M. leprae (19%) or M. vaccae (19%). However it was nearly as frequent using sonicated M. tuberculosis, or M. scrofulaceum. Thus in only nine patients was the effect specific to M. leprae. Enhancement by IL-2 could not be related to the type of IL-2 used, the dose of antigen, or the amount of endogenous IL-2 released by the cells tested. Similarly it was not related to the extent to which IL-2 caused increased background proliferation in control wells, which occurred to an equal extent using cells from control subjects, nor was it related to the extent of antigen-driven proliferation. The data have also been analysed in relation to duration of disease (50 years to a few weeks) and ethnic origin. No correlations have been revealed. Thus enhancement by IL-2 of the lymphoproliferative response to mycobacterial antigens does occur using cells from lepromatous leprosy patients, but it is found in a minority of patients, it is not specific to M. leprae, and can occur with cells from normal donors.
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D000939:Epitopes; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology*; D007918:Leprosy / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013936:Thymidine / Q000378:metabolism
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000939:Epitopes; D007376:Interleukin-2; D013936:Thymidine