title: Reduced human lymphocyte blastogenesis and enhancement of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by L-carnitine.
abstract: Carnitine is associated with lipid synthesis and its deficiency may lead to cardiomegaly with parenchymal lipid in the heart, kidney and liver. In our study we found that pretreatment of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with serial dilutions of L-Carnitine (100 micrograms/ml-1 pg/ml) inhibits, in a dose-dependent manner, lymphocyte DNA synthesis stimulated with PHA (20 micrograms/ml). L-Carnitine did not have any effect on resting PBMC. The maximum inhibition was found at 10 micrograms/ml of L-Carnitine. Moreover, in a time-course study and using an enzymatic analysis (ATP monitoring reagent), L-Carnitine enhanced ATP production on PBMC treated and untreated with PHA, reaching a maximum effect at 30 min incubation. In another set of experiments PBMC were treated with L-Carnitine alone and in combination with PHA, and the percent of receptors CD3, CD4, and CD8 were calculated with flow cytometry. After the cell incubation with L-Carnitine, the percent of all receptors studied did not change compared to L-Carnitine-untreated cells (controls). These data suggest that L-Carnitine inhibits, in a dose-dependent manner, lymphocyte blastogenesis induced by PHA, probably through the enhancement of ATP synthesis, which is considered an inhibitor of phospholipase C activity and a suppressor in lymphocyte cultures.
authors.affiliation: Immunology Division, University of Chieti Medical School, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reale
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stuard
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spoto
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Picerno
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ferrara
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Placido
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Barbacane
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Albertazzi
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Errichi
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D002331:Carnitine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D004247:DNA; D002331:Carnitine