EFFECTS OF PROPHYLACTIC INTRAVENOUS IMMUNOGLOBULIN-G THERAPY ON HUMORAL AND CELLULAR IMMUNE COMPONENTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS IN BURNED PATIENTS

In this study on patients with thermal trauma, we examined the effects of standard therapy plus prophylactic polyclonal immunoglobulin G (Ig G) treatment on humoral and cellular contents, cell phenotype and func tion of the immune system, and compare these with those found in patie nts receiving only standard therapy. The quantitative, peripheral-bloo d mononuclear cell panel shows a decrease in the total number of T-lym phocytes and an increase in the natural killer (NK) cells of standard therapy patients 3 weeks following the bum. We found that intravenous IgG treatment does not have an important effect on T lymphocytes and t he proportion of their subpopulations, but rather causes a significant decrease in the number of B lymphocytes and an increase in the number of NK cells. When comparing the DNA synthetic response to mitogenic a nd antigenic stimuli in patient's T and B lymphocytes using phytohaema gglutinin, pokeweed mitogen or allogenic mired cells in separate in vi tro cell cultures, the highest suppressive effect of thermal trauma is seen in the cells derived from the patients who had been given prophy lactic IgG therapy. The presented data confirm that thermal trauma cau ses an immunosuppressive effect and indicate that prophylactic polyclo nal IgG therapy increased the quantitative and functional suppression of the specific immune system while additionally increasing the cellul ar levels of the non-specific immune system, each system having been p reviously stimulated by thermal trauma.