THE SUPPRESSIVE EFFECT OF SERUM SAMPLES FROM PATIENTS WITH CHANCROID ON HUMAN MONONUCLEAR-CELLS CORRELATES WITH THE CLINICAL PICTURE AND ISINTERLEUKIN-2-DEPENDENT

Plasma samples from patients with chancroid diagnosed both on clinical and microbiological grounds were assessed for their ability to inhibi t mitogen-induced proliferation of human lymphocytes from healthy dono rs. All serum samples analysed suppressed phytohaemagglutinin A (PHA) blastogenic response. A significant difference in the observed extent was seen when serum samples from patients with and without associated lymphadenopathy were compared (P<0.05). Using an interleukin-2 (IL-2)- dependent cell line it could be demonstrated that the addition of pati ents' plasma to cultured cells markedly depressed mitogen-induced IL-2 synthesis. Results presented suggest that cell-mediated mechanisms pl ay a role in the pathogenesis of infection due to Haemophilus ducreyi.