The production of lymphocyte mitogenic factor and migration–inhibition factor by antigen-stimulated lymphocytes of subjects with grass pollen allergy

摘要

Peripheral blood lymphocytes of twenty-three subjects with grass pollen allergy were cultured with grass pollen antigen for 3 days. After harvesting, the culture supernatants were added to fresh autologous lymphocytes which were maintained in culture for 6 days. Cellular uptake of [³H]thymidine was measured during the sixth day of culture, and revealed that the lymphocyte culture supernatants stimulated greater thymidine uptake than expected from the lymphocyte transformation response to corresponding amounts of antigen. The supernatant factor which mediated this effect was termed `lymphocyte mitogenic factor' by analogy with a similar response of lymphocytes in clinical and experimental delayed hypersensitivity. Lymphocyte culture supernatants were also tested for migration–inhibition factor by their ability to inhibit the migration of guinea-pig macrophages.The majority of `allergic' supernatants contained a lymphocyte mitogenic factor active at 1/3 dilution (14/22) and 1/12 dilution (19/21) in contrast to supernatants derived from non-allergic subjects (2/16 and 1/17 respectively). The production of lymphocyte mitogenic factor corresponded to the occurrence of antigen-induced lymphocyte transformation (allergic: 18/22; non-allergic: 1/14); but only a minority of allergic supernatants contained a migration–inhibition factor (6/20). Clinical analysis revealed that migration–inhibition factor was particularly associated with the milder forms of allergy and with a past history of desensitization by depot injection of emulsified pollen antigen. In contrast, lymphocyte transformation and the production of mitogenic factor were uniformly distributed among the various categories of allergic subjects, all of whom had immediate (reaginic) hypersensitivity, but only three of whom had delayed hypersensitivity.The demonstration of lymphocyte mitogenic factor in a clinical state dominated by immediate hypersensitivity supported the view that antigen-induced transformations are generally mediated by soluble `mitogenic' factors and that such mediators are not necessarily identical to those which can inhibit macrophage migration. It appeared that some features of cellular immunity were associated with grass pollen allergy, in which it is suggested that heterogeneity of lymphocyte-derived mediators may underlie an apparent dissociation of cellular immune functions. On this basis it is proposed that clinical expression of an atopic state may be partly governed by which features of cellular immunity are present.