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Depressed in vitro peripheral blood lymphocyte response to mitogens in cancer patients: The role of suppressor cells
Author(s) -
Zembala Marek,
Mytar Bozena,
Popiela Tadeusz,
Asherson Geoffrey L.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910190503
Subject(s) - lymphocyte , immunology , in vitro , cancer , stimulation , cell , immune system , medicine , biology , cancer research , endocrinology , biochemistry
The reactivity of peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with advanced malignancy was assessed by mitogen‐induced stimulation of protein synthesis as measured by 3 H‐leucine incorporation. It was confirmed that the lymphocyte response of patients was depressed. Furthermore, the lymphocytes of 15 out of 27 cancer patients, selected because of their low responses, inhibited the reactivity of normal lymphocytes in co‐cultures. The lymphocytes from one patient with Hodgkin's disease were also inhibitory. In contrast, lymphocytes from healthy subjects, patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, lymphosarcoma or multiple myeloma caused no suppression. Experiments with purified cell populations from patients with carcinoma indicated that purified T cells responded to mitogens while unseparated lymphocytes failed to respond and that the inhibitory activity was due to adherent cells, presumably monocytes. There was no evidence for B‐cell‐mediated suppression. However, in two cases inhibition was caused by isolated T cells of the patients and not by adherent cells. These experiments suggested that one mechanism for the depression of cell‐mediated immunity seen in patients with advanced cancer may be the nonspecific suppression of certain T‐cell functions by circulating monocytes.