Effect of Human Prealbumin Fraction with Thymic Hormone Activity on the Mononuclear Cells of Coccidioidomycosis Patients and Tuberculosis Patients

摘要

Thymic hormones have potent in vitro and in vivo effects on T cell-mediated immune responses. The effect of a prealbumin fraction from human plasma (HPAF) which contains thymic hormone activity on in vitro lymphocyte responses of patients with coccidioidomycosis was studied. Skin test-positive and negative healthy controls and patients with tuberculosis (as another granulomatous disease) were studied concurrently. Ficoll-Hypaque-purified mononuclear cells were used. HPAF had no mitogenic activity by itself. Of 8 coccidioidomycosis patients, 6 showed boosting of > 50% to spherulin. In contrast, 4 of 5 tuberculosis patients showed comparable depression of response to purified protein derivative of tuberculin. The responses of both patient groups to a nonspecific mitogen were less affected, as were the responses of healthy controls to specific antigen or mitogen. The striking contrast in effect in the two diseases may reflect the responsiveness of different sub-populations. HPAF or some component of it, or another thymic hormone preparation, may provide an approach to immunotherapy directed at repairing the cell-mediated immune defects that have been described in coccidiodomycosis patients.