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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Characterization of Thymus-dependent and Thymus-independent Immunoglobulin Isotype Responses in Mice Using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay
Published on: September 7, 2018
Modulation of lymphocyte phenotype and function by immunoglobulins
J Kirschbaum1, K Forschner, C Rasche
1Allergy-Center-Charité, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charité-Universitàtsmedizin Berlin, Schumannstr, 20-21, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Background:
Immunoglobulins have immune-modulating capacities and are used for the treatment of different dermatological diseases. They have also been reported for the treatment of severe atopic dermatitis (AD).
Objectives:
To determine the effects of immunoglobulins on the phenotype and function of peripheral T and B lymphocytes from patients with AD in comparison with healthy donors (HD) as controls.
Methods:
We studied lymphocyte activation and T-cell cytokine production from 12 patients with AD and 10 HD by multicolour flow cytometric analysis in the presence of immunoglobulins.
Results:
Immunoglobulins significantly inhibited T-cell activation (CD69), by 71% (AD) and by 62% (HD). Production of interferon-gamma and interleukin-4 was also significantly inhibited, by 44%/24% (AD) and 38%/10% (HD), respectively. In addition, CD86 expression on B lymphocytes was downregulated by 30% in AD and by 29% in HD, whereas CD23 expression was decreased without reaching statistical significance.
Conclusions:
Our data demonstrate that, in vitro, immunoglobulins modulate the activation and cytokine production of peripheral blood lymphocytes from both HD and patients with AD.
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