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Metallothionein induction in a human B cell line by stimulated immune cell products
J Oberbarnscheidt1, P Kind, J Abel
1Medical Institute of Environmental Hygiene, University of Düsseldorf, FRG.
Metallothionein (MT) is a protein inducible by heavy metals, various chemicals, immunomodulatory substances, and interleukins. We have asked the question whether immunostimulatory substances, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or Concanavalin A (Con A), or supernatants obtained from human peripheral mononuclear cells (hPMC), which had been stimulated with LPS or Con A, are able to induce increased MT concentrations in cells of the immune system. For this purpose, the effects of LPS and Con A, and of supernatants obtained from immune cells stimulated by them were studied using the human IgM-secreting B cell line RPMI 1788. Supernatants obtained from hPMC that were stimulated by LPS or Con A increased the MT concentration in RPMI 1788 cells. However, LPS or Con A failed directly to increase MT concentrations in RPMI 1788 cells, whereas they increased MT concentrations in hPMC. Our data support the hypothesis that MT is probably not only important for metal homeostasis and protection against environmental hazards but also during immunostimulation.
Metallothionein (MT) is a protein inducible by heavy metals, various chemicals, immunomodulatory substances, and interleukins. We have asked the question whether immunostimulatory substances, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or Concanavalin A (Con A), or supernatants obtained from human peripheral mononuclear cells (hPMC), which had been stimulated with LPS or Con A, are able to induce increased MT concentrations in cells of the immune system. For this purpose, the effects of LPS and Con A, and of supernatants obtained from immune cells stimulated by them were studied using the human IgM-secreting B cell line RPMI 1788. Supernatants obtained from hPMC that were stimulated by LPS or Con A increased the MT concentration in RPMI 1788 cells. However, LPS or Con A failed directly to increase MT concentrations in RPMI 1788 cells, whereas they increased MT concentrations in hPMC. Our data support the hypothesis that MT is probably not only important for metal homeostasis and protection against environmental hazards but also during immunostimulation.