EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF PIDOTIMOD ON THE IN-VITRO PRODUCTION OF INTERFERONS

This trial has evaluated the effect of three different doses of pidoti mod (1, 10 and 100 mu g/ml) on the in vitro production of interferons (IFNs), using mononuclear cells of peripheral blood from healthy adult subjects. As inducers, a double-stranded synthetic RNA (Poly I:C) at the doses of 1 and 10 mu g/ml and Newcastle's disease virus strain F ( NDVF) at different multiplicities of infection were used for IFN-alpha and PHA (at the suboptimal dose of 1:80) and pertussis toxin (0.5, 1 and 2.5 mu g/ml) were used for IFN-gamma. In many cases a significant increase in the production of the viral inhibitor was obtained: pidoti mod showed a concentration-dependent immunomodulating effect which sug gests a linearity of response, particularly in the case of IFN-alpha i nduced by Poly I:C. The results obtained confirm the role of pidotimod as a strengthener of the biological defences against infections, as s hown by the increase in the production of interferons by committed whi te cells.