Meal induced increase in serum triglycerides has no effect on lymphocyte response to mitogens

The effect of a standardized heavy meal on the lymphocyte transformations induced by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A) and PPD tuberculin was studied. The meal significantly increased the serum triglycerides (P less than 0.01), while it had no effect on cholesterol or high density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels. The increase in serum triglycerides did not affect lymphocyte transformation induced by phytohaemagglutinin or concanavalin A in whole blood microcultures. A slight decrease was observed when lymphocytes were stimulated with one out of three concentrations of PPD tuberculin (P less than 0.05). However, there was no correlation with the increase of triglycerides and decrease in lymphocyte transformation. Our observation shows that physiological changes in serum triglycerides do not affect the capacity of lymphocytes to respond to mitogenic stimulation, and the whole blood micromethod for lymphocyte stimulation to screen the capacity of cell-mediated immunity does not depend on the meal schedule of the patients.