[Suppressor hyperactivity in relation to allogeneic lymphocyte proliferation as a manifestation of T- T-cell...

Phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation by con A-induced immunoregulatory cells has been estimated in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) treated with prednisolone. Using the combination of normal immunoregulatory cells and proliferating target cells from normal donors with immunoregulatory cells and target cells from SLE patients, it was shown that the response to immunoregulatory cells in target cells of SLE patients was impaired. This is confirmed by a slight inhibition of SLE target cell proliferation and the activating effect of immunoregulatory cells on the proliferation of "sick" targets. The data give evidence of impaired T-T-cell interaction that may be a possible mechanism of immunoregulatory defects in SLE. These disturbances can, probably, cause hyperreactivity of suppressor cells affecting normal lymphocyte proliferation. It was shown that theophylline was useful for the correction of these disorders.