ABSTRACT
The in vitro effects of a local anesthetic, a membrane active drug, procaine, on some functional activities of circulating human lymphocytes and monocytes were studied. Procaine inhibited spontaneous E-rosette formation between T-lymphocytes and sheep erythrocytes and EAC-rosettes with B-lymphocytes. In addition, procaine inhibited both the phagocytosis of latex particles by normal monocytes and the proliferation of lymphocytes in an allogeneic mixed leukocyte culture. Morphologically the procaine-treated cells exhibited a relative increase in the size of the cytoplasmic rim around their nuclei. The results indicated that procaine might be considered as a non-specific immunoregulator, modulating to some extent the functional expression of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells activities