Ascorbic acid is a potent inhibitor of various forms of T cell apoptosis

This study was designed to examine the effect of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on various death pathways of mouse T cells. Unlike humans, mice produce the ir own ascorbic acid and our study tested the effect of additional ascorbic acid on murine T cells. Our data show that three T cell death pathways (gr owth factor withdrawal-, spontaneous-, and steroid-induced death) were inhi bited when T cells were incubated with ascorbic acid. The data show that bo th activated and resting T cells were responsive to ascorbic acid since bot h populations were resistant to death stimuli when treated with ascorbic ac id. Additionally, effector T cells were more likely to enter S phase if tre ated with ascorbic acid. Our data implicate ascorbic acid as a potent inhib itor of various forms of T cell death and suggest that vitamin C may functi on as an immune booster through this mechanism. (C) 1999 Academic Press.