DECREASED SUPPRESSOR CELL ACTIVITY IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL-DISEASE

Abstract

Studies were performed on 11 patients with inflammatory bowel disease to determine if there was an alteration in concanavalin (Con)A induced suppressor cell activity. Similar investigations were also performed on 21 control subjects and 5 patients with other inflammatory conditions. Suppressor cells were generated by pre-incubation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with a mitogenic concentration of Con A, followed by treatment with mitomycin C and .alpha.-methyl mannoside. Under these conditions, cells obtained from normal individuals were then capable of suppressing the Con A-stimulated blast transformation responses of fresh allogenic lymphocytes in new cultures. In 20 out of 21 control subjects and all 5 patients with other inflammatory disorders, Con A-stimulated suppressor cell activity was demonstrable. Four patients with inflammatory bowel disease, whose disease was mildly active or was in clinical remission, had elicitable suppressor cell activity which fell within the normal range. Suppressor cell activity was markedly diminished or absent in 7 patients with severe and active inflammatory bowel disease. An alteration in Con A-stimulated suppressor cells apparently exists in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease, which may contribute in part to the persistent inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract.