title: In vitro effect of cyclosporin A on immunoglobulin production and concanavalin A induced suppression in primary biliary cirrhosis.
abstract: The in vitro effect of Cyclosporin A on the regulation of immunoglobulin production was investigated in 16 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. A significant improvement in concanavalin A induced suppression of IgG and IgM producing cells was observed after prior incubation of mononuclear cells with 300 ng/ml Cyclosporin A for 30 minutes. No effect was seen on spontaneous or pokeweed mitogen induced immunoglobulin production, nor on con A induced suppression if Cyclosporin A was added after 24 hours. Incubation of mononuclear cells with a variable dose of Cyclosporin A showed an effect only at 250-500 ng/ml. Higher and lower doses had no effect. This dose dependent effect of Cyclosporin A is likely to be related to a differential inhibitory effect on T helper and T suppressor cells and may underlie the clinical benefit being observed in current clinical trials.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D003524:Cyclosporins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D003524:Cyclosporins; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D003208:Concanavalin A