title: 2-Mercaptoethanol and n-acetylcysteine enhance T cell colony formation in AIDS and ARC.
abstract: One contributing factor to the loss of T cells in AIDS may be the impaired ability of T cell precursors to expand, as reflected in a decreased ability of patient cells to form T cell colonies in agar. We and others have noted such a defect in people with AIDS and ARC, and have found that suppressor cells and suppressive plasma contribute to decreased T-CFC formation. We report here that the reducing agents 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) and n-acetyl cysteine (NAC) can enhance colony formation in vitro. In part, 2-ME can reverse the defect in T cell colony-forming cells (T-CFC) formation by overcoming the effect of suppressor cells. In a group of 46 AIDS patients, T-CFC formation was initially 42 +/- 8% (mean +/- s.e.) that of control levels. 2-ME caused an increase of 401 +/- 76% in T-CFC formation which was significantly greater than the increase in control T-CFC formation; it also significantly enhanced T-CFC formation by cells from ARC patients. Suppressor cell activity from ten AIDS patients decreased from 58 +/- 21% to 12 +/- 10% when 2-ME was added. Similar data were obtained from 14 ARC patients. NAC, a related antioxidant with low toxicity, also enhanced T-CFC in cells of AIDS and ARC patients. Vitamin C generally did not increase T-CFC formation. The data suggest that certain antioxidants such as 2-ME and NAC may be useful in treatment protocols to enhance T cell numbers in patients with AIDS or ARC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Black
mesh_terms: D000386:AIDS-Related Complex / Q000276:immunology; D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006801:Humans; D008623:Mercaptoethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D008623:Mercaptoethanol; D000111:Acetylcysteine