Interleukins and immunosuppressive factors: a regulatory system?

Biomed Pharmacother. 1983;37(6):258-65.

Abstract

On exogenous stimulus immunocompetent leucocytes produce antigen-specific factors, which essentially determine the magnitude and duration of T-lymphocyte dependent immunoreactions. Interleukin 1 (IL-1, monokin) and interleukin 2 (IL-2, lymphokine) form a bimodal amplification system which may operate in vivo at the level of peripheral lymphoid organs, which interleukin 3 (IL 3, lymphokine) may function as a positive feed-back signal at the level of multipotential stem cells. The physiological IL-2 has wider importance, since the permanent expression of Il-2 gene due to the insertion of the viral promoter sequence (HTLV in human) led to uncontrolled proliferation of T-cells and to the development of lymphomas and leukemias of mature T-cell phenotype. On the afferent arc of immunoreactions endogenous factors mediate T-cell proliferation inhibitory effect probably via interaction with the interleukin system. Some practical aspects of these two antagonistic group of factors are presented and discussed.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line
  • Concanavalin A / pharmacology
  • DNA, Recombinant
  • Deltaretrovirus
  • Humans
  • Immune Tolerance*
  • Interleukin-1 / immunology*
  • Interleukin-2 / genetics
  • Interleukin-2 / immunology*
  • Interleukin-3
  • Leukemia / immunology
  • Lymphocyte Activation
  • Lymphokines / immunology*
  • Lymphoma / immunology
  • Macrophages / immunology
  • Mice
  • Neoplasms / immunology
  • Phytohemagglutinins / pharmacology
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*

Substances

  • DNA, Recombinant
  • Interleukin-1
  • Interleukin-2
  • Interleukin-3
  • Lymphokines
  • Phytohemagglutinins
  • Concanavalin A