Interleukin 10 is a human T cell growth factor in vitro

• Published in: Cytokine (Philadelphia, Pa.) Vol. 7; no. 4; pp. 355 - 363
• Main Authors: Pawelec, Graham, Pohla, Heike, Schlotz, Elke, Rehbein, Arnika, Schaudt, Kurt, Hambrecht, Andreas, Friccius, Hilke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.05.1995
• Subjects: CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; DNA Replication - drug effects; growth factor; Humans; IL-10; Immunophenotyping; Interferon-gamma - biosynthesis; Interleukin-10 - pharmacology; Interleukin-10 - secretion; Interleukin-2 - biosynthesis; Interleukin-2 - pharmacology; Interleukin-4 - biosynthesis; Interleukin-4 - pharmacology; Interleukin-7 - pharmacology; Lymphocyte Activation - drug effects; Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; T cell; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - drug effects; TCR1; TCR2; growth factor; TCR2; TCR1; T cell; IL-10
• ISSN: 1043-4666; 1096-0023
• DOI: 10.1006/cyto.1995.0045

Although interleukin (IL)-10 inhibited lymphocyte proliferation in mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC) and blocked stimulation of alloreactive T cell clones (TCC) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), the cells surviving culture with IL-10 showed enhanced viability. A minority of IL-2-dependent T cell lines, moreover, incorporated tritiated thymidine when cultured with IL-10 alone; their proliferation with IL-10 was dose-dependent, prevented by addition of neutralizing antisera to IL-10 but not to IL-2 and/or IL-4 and observed both shortly (4 days) and later ( 7–10 days) after T cell allostimulation. Examination of the proliferative responses to IL-10 of a panel of TCC revealed heterogeneity of responsiveness: whereas only one of five CD8+TCR2 (T cell receptor α, β)-TCC proliferated with IL-10, three of five CD4+TCR2-TCC proliferated, one of them strongly. In contrast, all three TCR1 (γδ)-TCC tested responded to IL-10, albeit rather weakly. These results therefore suggest that in addition to its well-established inhibitory action on T cell activation, IL-10 may also exert positive influences on clonal expansion of subsets of preactivated T cells.