Immunosuppressive effects of a trauma-induced suppressor active peptide.

The isolation and partial characterization of an immunosuppressive glycopeptide from sera of severely burned patients has previously been reported. Recently, a monoclonal antibody to this factor and an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for detection of the peptide have been developed. The presence of the peptide in elevated quantity has been demonstrated in serum of patients with multiple blunt trauma as well as thermally injured patients. It was determined that the peptide is capable of suppressing neutrophil chemotaxis and T-cell blastogenesis as measured by MLR. Inhibition of B-cell blastogenesis induced by the peptide as measured by LPS mitogen-induced proliferation was demonstrated to be less sensitive to suppression. Further, it appears that activated T lymphocytes, those expressing increased IL-2 receptors, are more sensitive to suppression by the peptide at lower concentrations than are nonactivated T lymphocytes.