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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Human In Vitro Suppression as Screening Tool for the Recognition of an Early State of Immune Imbalance
Published on: July 22, 2011
Thyrotropin: an endogenous regulator of the in vitro immune response
T E Kruger1, L R Smith, D V Harbour
1Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Alabama, Birmingham 35294.
Abstract:
We have previously shown that thyrotropin (TSH), which is produced by lymphocytes in response to the T cell mitogen staphylococcal enterotoxin A, enhances in vitro antibody production to T cell-dependent and independent Ag (SRBC and trinitrophenylated Brucella abortus [BA-TPN], respectively) as determined by a direct plaque-forming cell assay. As a result of these studies, experiments were designed to examine the possible immunoregulatory function of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) on the in vitro antibody response to the T cell-independent Ag BA-TNP. Our studies demonstrate that TRH at very low concentrations (pM) enhances the in vitro plaque-forming cell response to BA-TNP and also induces splenocyte production of TSH. Other hypothalamic-releasing factors were without effect. This enhancement effect by TRH was specifically blocked by rabbit antisera to the TSH-beta subunit, whereas addition of normal rabbit sera had no effect. These data suggest that TRH specifically enhances the in vitro antibody response via production of immunoreactive TSH.
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