ABSTRACT
The effect of macrophage on IL-2 production by tonsillar T cells was investigated. The human tonsillar mononuclear cells were purified by a two-step procedure including depletion of plastic-adherent cel1s and rosetting with SRBC. The purity of Enriched T cel1s (ETC) was 98%. It was found that IL-2 production was greatly decreased in ETC by removing adherent cells and could be completely restored by replacing the adherent cells. The IL-2 production in the same extent was induced in ETC when TPA was substituted for adherent cells and the synergistic effect of TPA and macrophages greatly augmented the IL-2 secretion by ETC. Incubation of ETC with high concentration of PHA or ConA alone resultes in efficient IL-2 production. These results indicated that IL-2 production was macrophage dependent.