Regulation of in vitro PWM-induced IgG secretion in humans.

PWM-induced differentiation of human PBMC into immunoglobulin (Ig) secreting cells is a widely used model of in vivo IgG secretion. We examined the relationship between the amount of IgG secreted in PBMC cultures obtained from individuals who consistently secrete either very high (HR) or very low amounts (LR) of IgG and various in vitro immune function assays. The PBMC obtained from LR contained a higher ratio of cells expressing the T-suppressor/inducer to T-helper/inducer phenotype. The autologous mixed lymphocyte response was lower and the amount of in vivo radiation sensitive suppression was higher in the LR than in the HR. LR E- cells secreted less IgG than the HR E- cells when both were mixed with heterologous HR E+ cells. Monocyte depletion reduced IgG secretion in both LR and HR. These results suggest that each of the subsets Ts, Th (Thi, Tsi), and B lymphocytes are involved in the regulation of PWM-induced Ig secretion and that the functions of each of these subsets differ in HR and LR individuals.