Skip to main content
PMC home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1980 Mar;39(3):722–727.

Maturational effects of thymic hormones on human helper and suppressor T cells: effects of FTS ('Facteur Thymique Sérique') and thymosin.

D B Kaufman
PMCID: PMC1538127  PMID: 6445799

Abstract

Human peripheral blood lymphocytes were isolated from healthy donors and pre-incubated with two thymic factors, FTS, a new synthetic polypeptide originally isolated and purified from serum, and thymosin Fraction V. After 24 hr of pre-incubation, the cells were washed and added to an allogeneic MLR and assayed for their ability to induce a suppressor or helper response. It was found that both factots were capable of inducing both helper and suppressor T cells and that the response was unpredictable. In both instances, more than 50% of the subjects studied responded with a helper effect. The addition of Con A augmented these effects. Since both helper and suppressor T cells can be induced by the factors studied herein, one must be aware of the potential effects on T-T and T-B balances of manipulation in clinical situations such as SLE or cellular immune deficiency states.

Full text

PDF
724

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Armerding D., Katz D. H. Activation of T and B lymphocytes in vitro. IV. Regulatory influence on specific T cell functions by a thymus extract factor. J Immunol. 1975 Apr;114(4):1248–1254. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bach J. F., Dardenne M., Goldstein A. L., Guha A., White A. Appearance of T-cell markers in bone marrow rosette-forming cells after incubation with thymosin, a thymic hormone. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1971 Nov;68(11):2734–2738. doi: 10.1073/pnas.68.11.2734. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bach M. A., Niaudet P. Thymic function in NZB mice. II. Regulatory influence of a circulating thymic factor on antibody production against polyvinylpyrrolidone in NZB mice. J Immunol. 1976 Sep;117(3):760–764. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Barthold D. R., Kysela S., Steinberg A. D. Decline in suppressor T cell function with age in female NZB mice. J Immunol. 1974 Jan;112(1):9–16. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Carnaud C., Ilfeld D., Brook I., Trainin N. Increased reactivity of mouse spleen cells sensitized in vitro against syngeneic tumor cells in the presence of a thymic humoral factor. J Exp Med. 1973 Dec 1;138(6):1521–1532. doi: 10.1084/jem.138.6.1521. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dauphinee M. J., Talal N., Goldstein A. L., White A. Thymosin corrects the abnormal DNA synthetic response of NZB mouse thymocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Jul;71(7):2637–2641. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.7.2637. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dauphinee M. J., Talal N. Reversible restoration by thymosin of antigen-induced depression of spleen DNA synthesis in NZB mice. J Immunol. 1975 Jun;114(6):1713–1716. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dutton R. W. Suppressor T cells. Transplant Rev. 1975;26:39–55. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-065x.1975.tb00174.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gershwin M. E., Ahmed A., Steinberg A. D., Thurman G. B., Goldstein A. L. Correction of T cell function by thymosin in New Zealand mice. J Immunol. 1974 Sep;113(3):1068–1071. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hooper J. A., McDaniel M. C., Thurman G. B., Cohen G. H., Schulof R. S., Goldstein A. L. Purification and properties of bovine thymosin. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Feb 28;249:125–144. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb29063.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Horowitz S., Borcherding W., Moorthy A. V., Chesney R., Schulte-Wisserman H., Hong R. Induction of suppressor T cells in systemic lupus erythematosus by thymosin and cultured thymic epithelium. Science. 1977 Sep 2;197(4307):999–1001. doi: 10.1126/science.302032. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kaufman D. B., Bostwick E. Defective suppressor T-cell activity in systemic lupus erythematosus. Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1979 May;13(1):9–18. doi: 10.1016/0090-1229(79)90015-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kaufman D. B., Carnaud C., Stach J. L., Bach J. F. The suppressive effect of a supernate from concanavalin A-activated human lymphocytes: effects of concanavalin A-activated lymphocytes and their supernates on cytotoxic and mixed lymphocyte reactions. Cell Immunol. 1979 Sep 15;47(1):153–162. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(79)90323-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kaufman D. B., Sledge C. R., Knust M. The influence of thymosin on affinity binding in the E-rosette assay. Immunol Commun. 1977;6(4):423–435. doi: 10.3109/08820137709051978. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Komuro K., Boyse E. A. Induction of T lymphocytes from precursor cells in vitro by a product of the thymus. J Exp Med. 1973 Aug 1;138(2):479–482. doi: 10.1084/jem.138.2.479. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Miller H. C., Schmiege S. K., Rule A. Production of functional T cells after treatment of bone marrow with thymic factor. J Immunol. 1973 Oct;111(4):1005–1009. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rotter V., Schlesinger M., Kalderon R., Trainin N. Response of human lymphocytes to PHA and Con A, dependent on and regulated by THF, a thymic hormone. J Immunol. 1976 Nov;117(5 PT2):1927–1932. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Sakane T., Green I. Human suppressor T cells induced by concanavalin A: suppressor T cells belong to distinctive T cell subclasses. J Immunol. 1977 Sep;119(3):1169–1178. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Shou L., Schwartz S. A., Good R. A. Suppressor cell activity after concanavalin A treatment of lymphocytes from normal donors. J Exp Med. 1976 May 1;143(5):1100–1110. doi: 10.1084/jem.143.5.1100. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Touraine J. L., Touraine F., Incefy G. S., Good R. A. Effect of thymic factors on the differentiation of human marrow cells into T-lympnocytes in vitro in normals and patients with immunodeficiencies. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Feb 28;249:335–342. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb29081.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wara D. W., Goldstein A. L., Doyle N. E., Ammann A. J. Thymosin activity in patients with cellular immunodeficiency. N Engl J Med. 1975 Jan 9;292(2):70–74. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197501092920204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wolf R. E., Goldstein A. L., Ziff M. Suppression by thymosin of pokeweed mitogen-induced differentiation of human B cells. Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1978 Nov;11(3):303–306. doi: 10.1016/0090-1229(78)90054-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Wolf R. E. Thymosin-induced suppression of proliferative response of human lymphocytes to mitogens. J Clin Invest. 1979 Apr;63(4):677–683. doi: 10.1172/JCI109350. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Wybran J., Levin A. S., Fudenberg H. H., Goldstein A. L. Thymosin: effects on normal human blood T-cells. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Feb 28;249:300–307. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb29077.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical and Experimental Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES