Influence of adjuvant-active peptidoglycan monomer on specific T cell responses in mice

Peptidoglycan monomer (PGM) originating from Brevibacterium divaricatum is a non-toxic, non-pyrogenic, water-soluble immunostimulator. It potentiates humoral immune response to ovalbumin (OVA) in mice upregulating both immunoglobulin (IgG) 1 and IgG2a antibody subclasses. This study concerns the influence of PGM on T cell activation and cytokine networks in response to OVA. OVA-specific proliferative response as well as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) secretion in lymph node cell cultures of immunised mice were studied. Due to pharmacokinetic properties of PGM, namely its fast metabolism and excretion, special emphasis was on choosing the appropriate time for lymph node removal and duration of cell cultivation for each cytokine. PGM treatment in addition to OVA resulted in an increase of lymph node cellularity, stimulation of OVA-specific IFN-gamma and IL-4 production as well as of OVA-specific proliferative response. Results demonstrate that PGM stimulated both Th1 and Th2 subpopulations.