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Role of interleukin‐2 and interferon‐γ in inducing production of IgG subclasses in lymphocytes of human newborns
Author(s) -
KAWANO Y.,
NOMA T.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2567.1996.d01-634.x
Subject(s) - immunology , interferon , interferon γ , interleukin 4 , biology , interferon gamma , cytokine
Unlike lymphocytes from adults, lymphocytes from cord blood of neonates cannot synthesize immunoglobulin G (IgG) in response to pokeweed mitogen (PWM). By using this mitogen in concert with interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), interleukin‐2 (IL‐2), or interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), we studied the induction of IgG subclass molecules in lymphocytes of human neonates. IFN‐γ induced a limited, but substantial, enhancement of IgG2 production by neonatal lymphocytes. IL‐2 dose dependently increased the production of each neonatal IgG subclass, whereas IL‐6 did not. However, in adult lymphocytes, and under specific conditions, IL‐6 or IL‐2 each increased the production of all four IgG subclasses. Early in the culture IFN‐γ synergized with IL‐2 during the latter or whole culture period to enhance cord blood IgG2 levels. This finding contrasted with the adult IgG2 synthesis synergistically up‐regulated by IFN‐γ and IL‐6. IL‐2 caused a graded increase in immunoglobulin production in neonatal lymphocytes with IgG3 being the highest and IgG2 the lowest, thus corresponding to the differential increase of serum levels of IgG3/IgG1 and IgG4/IgG2 early in childhood. Results suggest that IL‐2, but not IL‐6, is critical to the development of human IgG subclass production.