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Human Recombinant Interleukin‐2 Is Mitogenic to Human Lymphocytes
Author(s) -
Mookerjee Basab K.,
Pauly John L.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of leukocyte biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.819
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1938-3673
pISSN - 0741-5400
DOI - 10.1002/jlb.38.4.553
Subject(s) - lymphokine , monoclonal antibody , interleukin 2 , biology , recombinant dna , antigen , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , t lymphocyte , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , t cell , lymphocyte , antibody , cytokine , in vitro , immune system , biochemistry , gene
Abstract Reported herein are the results of studies demonstrating that purified recombinant human interleukin‐2 (hrIL‐2) is a potent mitogen for lymphocytes of healthy human donors. The specificity of the hrlL‐2‐induced response was defined in experiments in which mitogenicity of this T cell growth‐promoting lymphokine was completely abrogated by blocking the T cell membrane receptor for IL‐2 with the anti‐Tac monoclonal antibody. Depletion of adherent mononuclear leukocytes markedly reduced lymphocyte reactivity to hrIL‐2, but the response could be fully recovered by the addition of interleukin‐1 (IL‐1). Increased proliferative responses were observed using a combination of hrIL‐2 and a monoclonal antibody OKT3 that defines a T cell membrane antigen. These studies demonstrate that hrIL‐2, as with antigens and phytomitogens, may serve as the first signal of T cell proliferation.