Cyclosporin A does not affect thein vitroinduction of antigen‐specific delayed‐type hypersensitivity‐mediating T cells

摘要

AbstractThe effect of cyclosporin A (CsA) on thein vitroinduction of sheep red blood cell (SRBC)‐specific T cells mediating the delayed‐type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction was studied. CsA (1 μg/ml) addition to the culture medium totally inhibits thein vitroanti‐SRBC humoral response but does not interfere with the generation of anti‐SRBC DTH‐mediating T (TDTH) cells. The induction of TDTHrequires the presence of antigen and their expression is mediated selectively by the antigen used in the culture. The TDTHcells generated are Lyt‐1+, 2−and their induction occurs with a similar efficiency in CsA‐treated and untreated cultures: the frequency of the TDTHcells increases by a factor of 10 to 20 during the 6‐day incubation period. Lyt‐2+suppressor cells are also generated in CsA‐treated or untreated cultures. Our results suggest that a small fraction of T cells can be driven into the proliferative pathway by antigen e