Regulation of lymphocyte responses in vitro: potentiation and inhibition of rat lymphocyte responses to antigen and mitogens by cytochalasin B.

Cytochalasin B, at concentration between 0.02 and 0.2 mug/ml, was slightly stimulatory to lymph-node cells from normal rats and greatly potentiated their response to phytohemagglutinin and low concentrations of concanavalin A (mitogens for thymus-derived lymphocytes); it also potentiated the response of thymocytes to phytohemagglutinin. The response of lymphnode cells to lipopolysaccharide endotoxin (a mitogen for thymus-independent lymphocytes) was also enhanced, but only at concentrations in the usual inhibitory range, possibly by inhibition of a "suppressor T-cell" response. Sensitized lymphocytes responding to antigen were not stimulated at all, except at a very high cell density, where inhibition of a "suppressor cell" response was also considered likely. At concentrations of 5-10 mug/ml or higher, cytochalasin B inhibited all responses tested.