[Study of physiological functions of human ceruloplasmin. The effect of ceruloplasmin on immunocytes in a normal state and in pathology]. / Issledovanie fiziologicheskikh funktsii tseruloplazmina cheloveka. Vliianie tseruloplazmina na immunotsity v norme i pri patologii.

The immunomodulating effect of ceruloplasmin (CP) on the major components of the immunocompetent system of the organism--the natural resistance system and the specific immune response--has been established. CP can exert various influences on the level of expression of specific markers of T- and B-lymphocytes (as determined by various modifications of the rosette-forming test), on the phagocytic activity of neutrophils and monocytes as well as on the activity of "respiratory burst" enzymes. CP modulation was found to depend predominantly on the initial level of the immunological parameters to be determined, i. e., on the extent of immune inflammation in human patients. Thus, it was found that CP not only plays the roles of an antioxidant and a copper-transporting protein, but is also capable to interact with immunocytes, altering their biological activities. The observed immunotropicity of CP, its ability to directly interact with immunocytes and to model the immune function at the cell level provides evidence for the existence of a universal molecular language of information exchange between the macroorganism cells of various nature and origin.

Modulatory effects of ceruloplasmin on lymphocytes, neutrophils and monocytes of patients with altered immune status.

We investigated the effect of plasma ceruloplasmin (Cp) on the different types of lymphocyte rosetting, and phagocytosis of polystyrene particles and culture Candida albicans by peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes. Lymphocytes, neutrophils, and monocytes were isolated from the blood of patients with elevated immuno-status (n = 9), healthy donors (n = 21), and patients with reduced immuno-status (n = 21). The ability of Cp to decrease the number of lymphocytes forming E- and EAC-rosettes and rosettes with auto-erythrocytes was shown for both patients and healthy donors. The maximal decrease of the number of E-rosettes (by 35%) and EAC-rosettes (by 57%) was shown for lymphocytes of the patients with elevated immuno-status. Cp had an effect on rosetting only when lymphocytes were preincubated with it, suggesting that Cp binding to lymphocytes was responsible for these effects. The decrease in all types of rosetting caused by Cp was dose-related, with a maximum effect at physiological concentration of Cp (300 micrograms/ml). We demonstrated an enhancing effect of Cp on phagocytosis of Candida albicans and polystyrene particles by neutrophils (with a maximum enhancement by 180% for neutrophils of the patients with decreased immuno-status) and monocytes (with a maximum of 89% for monocytes of healthy donors). Cp enhances phagocytosis of neutrophils and monocytes by binding these cells, not by opsonizing ingested particles as a conventional opsonin (ie. lipopolysaccharide from E.coli). The stimulating effect of Cp on phagocytosis was three times higher than that of LPS from E.coli.