In vitro synthesis of interferon-gamma, interleukin-4, transforming growth factor-beta and interleukin-1 beta by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from tuberculosis patients: relationship with the severity of pulmonary involvement.

Given the role of cell-mediated immune responses in resistance to mycobacteria, we sought to analyse whether there was a relationship between the severity of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and lymphocyte proliferation as well as in vitro cytokine production. To achieve this, 25 untreated TB patients showing mild (n = 5), moderate (n = 9) or advanced (n = 11) pulmonary disease, and 12 age-matched healthy controls (mean+/-SD, 37+/-14.5 years) were studied.

Impaired in vitro T-cell responses in patients with community acquired pneumonia.

To evaluate the status of the cellular immune response of patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP), 8 CAP cases were studied for their in vitro T-cell responses to concanavalin A (Con A), tuberculin, and candidin, as well as levels of major T-cell populations in peripheral blood. Assessment on admission revealed that CAP patients had significantly decreased responses to both antigen and mitogen driven lymphocyte proliferation when compared to age and sex matched controls. Studies performed upon 1 week of antibiotic treatment made evident, in turn, that clinical improvement was accompanied by a reestablishment of the in vitro responses to tuberculin and candidin, whereas the lymphoproliferation induced by Con A remained decreased as in its first evaluation.

[Concomitant immunity against Sarcoma E 100 comparing 2 strains of rats].

Concomitant immunity (IC) is usually defined as the capacity of any animal bearing a progressor tumor to inhibit a second challenge with the same tumor. In order to establish the contribution of the host to the origin of this phenomenon, IC was induced in two lines of rats with a different behavior when challenged with Sarcoma E 100 (SE 100), i.e.

[Effect of intratumor macrophages on the growth of a rat sarcoma].

The removal of active phagocytic cells (CFA) from suspensions of a rat sarcoma (S-E 100) caused a decrease in tumor development in "m" line rats; consequently, we postulated that the macrophage (M phi) population infiltrating the tumor might possess inhibitory functions. In the present paper we investigate whether the effect of CFA is a general one or whether it is dependent on the interaction between M phi infiltrating the tumor and the recipient. S-E 100 was inoculated in "m" line rats (S-E 100,m) and in "c" (S-E 100,c); CFA were depleted from both tumoral suspensions with carbonyl iron powder (FeC), inoculating the supernatant tumor sells denominated S.