POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYL-INDUCED SUPPRESSION OF CYTOTOXIC T-LYMPHOCYTE ACTIVITY - ROLE OF PROSTAGLANDIN-E(2)

Prostaglandin-E(2) (PGE(2)) was investigated for its role in suppressi on of splenic cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity following exposure to 3,3',4,4',5,5' -hexachlorobiphenyl (HxCB) in mice. Following i.p. alloantigen injection, PGE(2) levels significantly increased in perito neal fluid and in spleen cell culture supernatants. HxCB exposure (1) significantly elevated PGE(2) levels above control in peritoneal fluid , (2) significantly reduced production of PGE(2) by spleen cells, and (3) did not alter PGE, production by peritoneal cells. The levels of P GE(2) observed were below (> 100-fold) those shown by others to cause immune suppression, and splenic CTL activity was unaltered by indometh acine treatment sufficient to reduce peritoneal PGE(2) to undetectable levels. We conclude that altered PGE(2) production is not involved in suppression of CTL activity by HxCB.