RESUMO
Absolute capacity for IL2 production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was studied using 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) and calcium ionophore A23187, which act synergistically, to induce lymphokine synthesis. Culture parameters were optimized for the TPA/A23187 stimulation such that maximal IL2 titers were produced with a high degree of reproducibility. Thus, using a synthetic medium, TPA/A23187 at 20/50ng/ml respectively, and a cell concentration of 2.5 X 10(6)/ml, IL2 titers in the cultures increased linearly over a period of 96h, reaching values at least 15-fold higher than with lectin stimulation. This allowed for determinations of IL2 synthetic capacity in individual blood samples. Large fluctuations in normal IL2 production (range 1775-10654 BRMP U/ml at 48h) were observed among 23 normal persons. A statistically significant lower IL2 productive capacity was observed in the age group above 40 as compared to those under 40. The lower rates of IL2 synthesis in a group of patients with Hodgkin's disease was seen only among those who had undergone immunosuppressive therapy; newly diagnosed cases fell within the normal range.
