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Studies on lymphokine production in lepromatous leprosy patients
I Munno1, N M Pellegrino, G Fumo
1Cattedra di Immunologia, Università di Bari, Facoltà di Medicina, Italy.
Abstract:
In order to evaluate whether lymphokine (LK) release is impaired in patients with lepromatous leprosy (LL), the production of two LKs, namely leukocyte inhibitory factor (LIF) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of LL individuals was investigated. Results show that in eight patients CD4+ cells exhibit a reduced release of LIF, while CD8+ lymphocytes are still able to secrete this LK. In the remaining three patients both CD4+ and CD8+ cells produced LIF as do normal lymphocyte subpopulations. As far as IL-2 release is concerned, all patients fail to produce the above LK either using purified CD4+ or CD8+ lymphocytes. These data emphasize additional defects in immune responsiveness in leprosy.