The immunomodulatory role of IFN-alpha or maltose-stabilized IFN-alpha on T-cell activation.

The effects of human interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) or maltose-stabilized IFN-alpha (MS-IFN-alpha) on IL-2 production by PHA- or anti-CD3 mAb-stimulated MOLT 16 cells, a human leukemic T cell line, were studied. MS-IFN-alpha is an IFN-alpha-containing powder in which maltose was used as an excipient, and has been shown to have a positive effect on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. In this study, MS-IFN-alpha powder was dissolved in a culture medium and used for the experiments. IL-2 production by PHA- or anti-CD3 mAb-stimulated MOLT 16 cells was augmented by coculturing with IFN-alpha or MS-IFN-alpha. The augmentation of IL-2 production by IFN-alpha or MS-IFN-alpha was completely abrogated by rabbit anti-IFN-alpha antibody. We have previously shown that IL-2 production by PHA-stimulated MOLT 16 cells is augmented by coculturing with IL-1. Furthermore, IL-2 production by PHA-stimulated MOLT 16 cells was also augmented by human TNF-alpha in a dose-dependent manner. The TNF-alpha-induced augmentation was completely abrogated by rabbit anti-TNF-alpha antibody. Interestingly, both IFN-alpha and MS-IFN-alpha synergized with rIL-1 alpha or TNF-alpha resulting in IL-2 production being augmented far more effectively than either cytokine alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)