Pt. Tomkins et al., EFFECT OF PHARMACOLOGICAL AGENTS ON THE PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN-10 BY THE MURINE D10.G4.1 T(H)2 CELL-LINE IN-VITRO, International journal of immunopharmacology, 17(7), 1995, pp. 619-625
It is becoming increasingly clear that the clinical courses of a varie
ty of autoimmune and infectious diseases are influenced by the balance
of T(H)1 and T(H)2 cell subsets that are generated during the immune
response. IL-10 is one of several cytokines which influences the diffe
rentiation of T-H cell subsets and represents a target For therapeutic
intervention. We have evaluated a variety of pharmacological agents f
or their ability to modulate IL-10 release by the murine D10.G4.1 T(H)
2 cell line when stimulated with concanavalin-A in the presence of IL-
1 alpha. Several were inhibitory, and the concentrations which caused
a 50% reduction in IL-10 production were 0.38 mu M cyclosporin-A, 0.00
73 mu M dexamethasone, 0.045 mu M prednisolone and 0.31 mu M cyclohexi
mide. Methotrexate and pentoxifylline caused a weak but statistically
significant reduction in IL-10 production at a concentration of 10 mu
M (P less than or equal to 0.05), whereas amrinone and azathioprine ha
d no clear effect. The pharmacological agents tested are known to exer
t multiple effects and were evaluated with a view to their use as refe
rence standards in an ongoing screening programme to identify novel co
mpounds which specifically modulate IL-10 production.