Selective inhibition of interleukin 2 but not of interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor-alpha or granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor secretion by human helper T cell clones after antigen-driven tolerisation.

Alloreactive human T-helper cell clones chronically exposed to specific antigen can become tolerised, i.e. lose their autocrine proliferative capacity and no longer undergo antigen-driven clonal expansion. To study parameters of possible clonal anergy in such cells, lymphokine secretion before and after tolerisation was measured. 10/10 CD4+ clones were found to secrete interleukin 2 (IL-2), interferon gamma, tumour necrosis factor alpha and granulocyte/macrophages colony stimulating factors. Tolerised clones which had lost autocrine proliferative capacity and had lost the ability to secret IL-2 nevertheless retained the ability to secrete the other lymphokines. These results thus show a highly selective lesion in the noncoordinate regulation of lymphokine secretion by tolerised cells.