T-cell responses to mitogens in atomic bomb survivors: A decreased capacity to produce interleukin 2 characterizes the T cells of heavily irradiated individuals

Significant decreases in the fraction of lymphocytes that are CD4(+) and in creases in serum levels of some classes of immunoglobulin have been reporte d to occur in atomic bomb (A-bomb) survivors and in victims of the Chernoby l nuclear plant accident. To investigate the long-term effects of nuclear r adiation on cellular immunity in more detail, we used limiting dilution ass ays with peripheral blood mononuclear cell preparations to analyze the T-ce ll responses of 251 A-bomb survivors exposed to less than 0.005 Gy and 159 survivors exposed to more than 1.5 Gy. The percentages of CD2-positive cell s that were capable of proliferating in response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA ) in the presence of exogenous interleukin 2 (IL2) did not differ substanti ally between distally exposed and more heavily exposed survivors. The heavi ly exposed survivors appeared to possess fewer T cells that were capable of proliferating in response to concanavalin A (Con A) or of producing interl eukin 2. Assuming that CD4 T cells were the ones primarily responsible for producing IL2 in response to Con A, we were able to estimate how many cells in any given CD4 T-cell population were actually producing IL2. The result s indicated that peripheral blood samples from heavily exposed survivors co ntained significantly fewer IL2-producing CD4 T cells than did similar samp les from distally exposed survivors, indicating that significant exposure t o A-bomb radiation may have a long-lasting negative effect on the capacity of CD4 T-cell populations to produce IL2. (C) 2001 by Radiation Research So ciety.