title: Ascorbic acid is a potent inhibitor of various forms of T cell apoptosis.
abstract: This study was designed to examine the effect of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on various death pathways of mouse T cells. Unlike humans, mice produce their own ascorbic acid and our study tested the effect of additional ascorbic acid on murine T cells. Our data show that three T cell death pathways (growth factor withdrawal-, spontaneous-, and steroid-induced death) were inhibited when T cells were incubated with ascorbic acid. The data show that both activated and resting T cells were responsive to ascorbic acid since both populations were resistant to death stimuli when treated with ascorbic acid. Additionally, effector T cells were more likely to enter S phase if treated with ascorbic acid. Our data implicate ascorbic acid as a potent inhibitor of various forms of T cell death and suggest that vitamin C may function as an immune booster through this mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bunditrutavorn
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Vella
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002455:Cell Division; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003470:Culture Media; D003907:Dexamethasone; D005260:Female; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D017186:Titrimetry
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D003907:Dexamethasone; D001205:Ascorbic Acid