2-deoxy-D-glucose modulation of T-lymphocyte reactivity: differential effects on lymphoid compartments

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of glucoprivation, as induced by 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) administration, on lymphocyte mitogen reactivity in Sprague-Dawley rats. The results showed that a single injection of 2-DG decreased reactivity in both whole-blood and spleen lymphocytes, as determined by mitogenic stimulation to concanavalin A (Con A) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA). However, the suppressed reactivity for the spleen lymphocytes attenuated with repeated injections, but the whole-blood lymphocytes did not show attenuation. Mitogen assessments of lymphocytes obtained from the thymus indicated that a single injection did not induce suppressed reactivity, but repeated injections induced a pronounced suppression of responsiveness. Furthermore, mitogen assessments of mesentery lymph nodes did not show any effect of 2-DG injections. These results corroborate other findings using electric shock as the stressor, namely that different compartments of the immune system are differentially affected by a stressor.