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Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Rapid Quantification of Mitogen-induced Blastogenesis in T Lymphocytes for Identifying Immunomodulatory Drugs
Published on: December 27, 2016
Blood lymphocyte blastogenesis in patients with thyroid dysfunction: ex vivo response to mitogen activation and
Garyphallia Papaioannou1, Fotios V Michelis, Konstantinos Papamichael
1Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Athens, M. Asias 75, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Objective:
To evaluate lymphocyte activation following mitogen and cyclosporin A (CsA) administration in peripheral blood of hyperthyroxinaemic and hypothyroid patients.
Materials And Methods:
Lymphocyte activation was evaluated by determining blastogenesis in 48 h cultured blood lymphocytes obtained from eight hyperthyroxinaemic and eight hypothyroid patients, following phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-induced stimulation in the absence or presence of CsA. Twelve healthy volunteers served as controls.
Results And Conclusions:
Lymphocytes from hypothyroid patients exhibited reduced response to PHA and lower sensitivity to CsA compared with control, which could be attributed to their reduced activation capability coexisting with hypothyroidism. In hyperthyroxinaemic samples, the actions of high CsA concentrations were mostly targeted toward activated lymphoblasts. Considering the cellular targets that thyroid hormones and CsA may share, the therapeutic implications of their cross-talk need careful consideration.
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