E. Shannon et al., Thalidomide's ability to augment the synthesis of IL-2 in vitro in HIV-infected patients is associated with the percentage of CD4+cells in their blood, IMMUNOPHARM, 46(2), 2000, pp. 175-179
Thalidomide is used for treating erythema nodosum leprosum. It is also used
to treat aphthous ulcers in HIV-infected patients. The mechanism of action
of this drug is yet to be fully understood, but modulation of inflammatory
cytokines like IL-2 and TNF-alpha may play a role. We investigated the eff
ect of thalidomide on the production of IL-2 and TNF-alpha by staphylococca
l enterotoxin A (SEA) stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)
from HIV-infected patients. The PBMC from 20 patients was incubated in the
presence of 4.0 mu g/ml of thalidomide and 50 ng/ml of SEA. After 18 h, the
culture supernatant was assayed for IL-2 and TNF-alpha. The PBMC incubated
with thalidomide and SEA produced significantly more IL-2 than those incub
ated with SEA alone. The TNF-alpha secreted by the same cells incubated wit
h thalidomide and SEA was not significantly different from that secreted by
the cells incubated with SEA alone. The amount of IL-2 produced in the tha
lidomide and SEA treated cultures was directly correlated with the percenta
ge of CD4+ cells in blood, and inversely correlated with the percentage of
CD8+ cells in blood. No statistically significant correlations were found w
hen comparing the amount of TNF-alpha produced in the thalidomide and SEA t
reated cultures with the percentage of CD4+ or CD8+ cells in the blood. Tha
lidomide can act, in vitro, as an additional stimulant to augment the synth
esis of IL-2 in HIV-infected patients. Increased production of IL-2 by acti
vated T-cells may be a mechanism through which it exerts its immunomodulato
ry effects. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
.