In vitro effects of T-2 toxin on the mitogen responsiveness and antibody-producing ability of human lymphocytes

Abstract

The effects of T-2 toxin on the in vitro mitogen responses and the antibody-producing ability of human peripheral blood lymphocytes were evaluated. T-2 toxin inhibited the mitogen response to concanavalin A (ConA) at a lower concentration (1.6 ng ml ) as compared to phytohemagglutinin (2.4 ng ml ) and pokeweed mitogen (2.4 ng ml ). Maximum inhibition was observed when the toxin was present during the first 8 h; however, the cultures were not refractory to inhibition until 48 h after culture initiation. The antibody-producing ability was inhibited by T-2 toxin concentrations of ≥ 3.2 ng ml . T-2 toxin did not induce or interfere with the generation of suppressor cells by ConA. The results of this study indicate that various lymphocyte subpopulations have different susceptibilities to T-2 toxin. The activation process associated with lymphocyte proliferation appears to be one of the most sensitive time periods.