title: Halothane anesthesia decreases human monocyte hydrogen peroxide generation. Protection of monocytes by activation with gamma interferon.
abstract: In an effort to determine the impact of halothane anesthesia on certain human cell-mediated immune functions, normal, purified human monocytes and lymphocytes were exposed to halothane in vitro at varying concentrations for up to 8 hours. Subsequently, these human effector cells were analyzed for their ability to function in several cell-mediated immunologic assays. Natural killer cell activity against K-562 was unaffected by halothane in most of the donors tested. Similarly, the ability of purified monocytes to inhibit MBL-2 tumor cell growth was unchanged. Halothane appeared to decrease the proliferative response of lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in approximately 50% of the normal donors tested. In contrast, the ability of monocytes to lyse antibody-coated red cell targets (ADCC) was unaffected by even maximal exposure to halothane. Of interest was the finding that human monocytes exposed to as low as 2% halothane anesthesia for 4 hours displayed a dramatic down-regulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) release. Since it is known that hydrogen peroxide and other incompletely reduced forms of oxygen secreted by monocytes can play a major role in the antimicrobial, antitumor, and inflammatory functions of these cells, this finding may help explain the enhanced susceptibility of post-operative patients to infections.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000009:adverse effects; D000920:Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity / Q000187:drug effects; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic / Q000187:drug effects; D006221:Halothane / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D009000:Monocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D006221:Halothane