title: Augmentation of the antibody response by lipoic acid in mice. I. Analysis of the mode of action in an in vitro cultures system.
abstract: Lipoic acid (Lip), a naturally occurring disulfide compound, was found to augment markedly in vitro antibody responses to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC), dinitrophenyl-Ficoll and trinitrophenyl-lipopolysaccharide (TNP-LPS) as effectively as 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) in murine lymphocytes. The mitogenic response to LPS or concanavalin A (Con A) was augmented by Lip only slightly. 2-ME has been reported to facilitate cystine utilization by the lymphocytes, but Lip did not, indicating that the mode of action of Lip is different from that of 2-ME. Lip-augmentation of anti-SRBC response was markedly abrogated when murine lymphocytes were depleted of T cells and cultured in the presence of Con A-conditioned medium containing T cell-replacing factor. The effect of Lip was also diminished in the response to TNP-LPS when the spleen cells were depleted of T cells. These observations suggest that Lip could augment the antibody response by stimulating a T cell subpopulation. This idea was confirmed by the experiment that Lip could enhance helper T cell activity which was induced by culturing murine lymphocytes with the antigen.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D008063:Thioctic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D003208:Concanavalin A; D008063:Thioctic Acid