Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
    Blood. 1996 Apr 1;87(7):2853-60.

    Suppression of B-cell proliferation to lipopolysaccharide is mediated through induction of the nitric oxide pathway by tumor necrosis factor-alpha in mice with acute graft-versus-host disease.

    Source

    Division of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

    Abstract

    Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is associated with impaired B-cell responses. We investigated the mechanism of impaired proliferation of B cells in response to the mitogen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by analyzing the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and nitric oxide (NO), both of which have independently been described as important effector mechanisms in the pathogenesis of acute GVHD. A threefold decrease of mature surface Ig-positive (slg+) B cells was observed in GVHD spleens isolated 2 weeks after transplant. However, proliferation of these cells in response to LPS was suppressed by more than 35-fold. Activated GVHD splenocytes secreted large amounts of TNF-alpha and NO in culture. Neutralization of TNF-alpha with anti-TNF-alpha antibody (Ab) both abrogated NO production and restored LPS-induced proliferation of B cells to levels found in non-GVHD control mice. The specific inhibition of NO synthesis with LG-monomethyl-arginine (NMMA) restored splenocyte responses but did not significantly reduce TNF-alpha levels, showing that TNF-alpha per se did not cause immunosuppression. These data show that, during GVHD, induction of the NO pathway is an important mechanism that mediates B-cell hyporesponsiveness to LPS and that this pathway is induced by TNF-alpha.

    PMID:
    8639904
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
    Free full text

      Supplemental Content

      Icon for HighWire Press

      Save items

      loading

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk