Colchicine is a potent adjuvant for eliciting T cell responses

The cytotoxic drug colchicine when administered to mice in conjunction with Ag was shown to have a strong adjuvant effect in generating a specific plaque-forming cell response to the protein Ag OVA, human gamma-globulin and BSA. Dissection of this phenomenon revealed that several T cell activities, including Th function, Ag-induced T cell proliferation and T cell-mediated delayed-type hypersensitivity, were also specifically induced by treating mice with colchicine + Ag. The adjuvant effect of colchicine was observed when the drug and Ag were injected in soluble form, i.e., no vehicle (e.g., oil, liposome) was necessary. The potency of colchicine as an adjuvant was equal to or more than that of conventional adjuvants such as CFA or alum.