IMMUNOTOXICITY OF COCAETHYLENE

This report describes the response of normal human T cells to stimulat ion in vitro in the presence of nano-micromolar concentrations of coca ethylene. Thymidine incorporation by concanavalin A-stimulated periphe ral blood mononuclear cells was generally blunted by cocaethylene, alb eit to different degrees depending upon the donor tested. The formatio n of concanavalin A-induced blast cells was decreased by increasing co ncentrations of cocaethylene. The production of interleukin-2 was also blunted in a dose-dependent fashion by cocaethylene, and this outcome was more consistently observed in stimulated peripheral blood mononuc lear cells, compared to unseparated whole blood preparations. An inver se dose dependence was obtained in relation to the response of blast c ells to recombinant human interleukin-2 in the presence of cocaethylen e. These lines of evidence, taken together with our preliminary studie s aimed at testing the effect of cocaethylene on the expression of cer tain membrane markers of activation (i.e., interleukin-2 receptor, tra nsferrin receptor, serine aminopeptidase IV) and the expression of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (cyclin PCNA), suggest that cocaet hylene modulates relatively early events following T cell stimulation probably related to the interleukin-2 system.