Immunoregulatory effects of α-endorphin, β-endorphin, methionine-enkephalin, and adrenocorticotropic hormone on anti-tetanus toxoid antibody synthesis by human lymphocytes

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This study assesses the effects of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), α-endorphin (α-endo), β-endorphin (β-endo), and methionine-enkephalin (met-enk) on tetanus toxoidstimulated in vitro specific antibody (anti-TT) synthesis. ACTH and TT-costimulated cultures enhanced antibody (Ab) synthesis over control TT-stimulated cultures at 10 −9 and 10 −11 M and suppressed Ab synthesis at 10 −13 and 10 −17 M. The α-endo and TT-costimulated cultures enhanced Ab synthesis over control cultures at all concentrations tested (10 −7 to 10 −15 M). Cultures costimulated with β-endo and TT enhanced Ab synthesis over control cultures at 10 −11 M and suppressed Ab synthesis at doses above and below 10 −11 M. The met-enk and TT-costimulated cultures produced more Ab than controls at 10 −9 M; and the met-enk and TT-costimulated cultures produced less Ab than controls at other concentrations as low as 10 −17 M and as high as 10 −7 M. The results of this study provide one reason as to why the interactions between the neuroendocrine and immune systems remain unclear.