Interactions between adherent mononuclear cells and lymphocytes from granulomas of mice with schistosomiasis mansoni

T-lymphocyte-adherent mononuclear cell interaction was analyzed in the vigorous and immunomodulated liver granulomas of Schistosoma mansoni-infected mice. Collagenase-dispersed granulomas contained 15% lymphocytes, 30% macrophages, 50% eosinophilis, and some neutrophils. Dispersed granuloma cells stimulated with concanavalin A or soluble worm egg antigens (SEA) did not proliferate unless plate-adherent, esterase-positive mononuclear cells were removed before culture. To analyze the granuloma adherent cell-mediated suppression, vigorous granuloma cell cultures partially depleted of adherent mononuclear cells were supplemented with indomethacin, catalase, superoxide dismutase, levamisole, and anti-murine alpha/beta interferon antiserum. In concanavalin A and SEA-stimulated cultures, only the addition of indomethacin or anti-alpha/beta interferon antiserum alleviated the adherent cell-mediated suppression of vigorous granuloma lymphocyte response. In contrast, these agents only minimally alleviated the suppressed response of SEA-stimulated, immunomodulated granuloma lymphocytes. Moreover, coculture of equal numbers of vigorous and immunomodulated granuloma cells partially depleted of adherent suppressor cells abrogated the alleviated response of vigorous granuloma lymphocytes. These findings indicate that, within the schistosome egg-induced vigorous granulomas, the adherent mononuclear cells exert regulation over lymphocyte responsiveness by alpha/beta-interferon and an indomethacin-sensitive, probably prostaglandin-mediated pathway. Within the immunomodulated granulomas, the adherent suppressor cell-mediated regulation of lymphocyte proliferation appears to play a lesser role.