Effects of interleukin 2 on estradiol binding capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in asymptomatic HBV carriers.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from asymptomatic hepatitis B (HBV) carriers and healthy controls were incubated with or without recombinant interleukin 2 (r-lL2) at 37 degrees C for 24 hours. They were then incubated for another hour with 3H-estradiol and cold estradiol at 37 degrees C, and the estradiol binding capacity was estimated by measuring the radioactivity bound to these cells. As a result, when r-lL2 was not added, the estradiol binding capacity of the mononuclear cells in asymptomatic HBV carriers was lower than that in healthy controls. However, when r-lL2 was added, it increased to about the same level as that in healthy controls. This increase in the estradiol binding capacity of the mononuclear cells in asymptomatic HBV carriers may be due to the differentiation and proliferation of the cells induced by r-lL2.