Regulation of natural killer cell cytotoxicity by prostaglandin E in the peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases. Part 1. Association between amount of prostaglandin produced, natural killer, and endogenous interferon.

MS patients' peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNC) spontaneously produced more prostaglandin E1&2 (PGE) in vitro than did OND or normal control MNC correlating with lower levels of NK activity and endogenous interferon (IFN) production while there were no differences between OND and normal controls. MS neat CSF contained significantly higher levels of measurable PGE with concomitantly lower NK activity and % IFN-positive cells than was seen in OND CSF. The PGE producing cells were depleted in the nylon wool-passed (NWP) and enriched in the nylon wool-adherent (NWAd) populations in direct correlation with depletion and enrichment of esterase-positive monocyte/macrophages, respectively, suggesting that at least some of the PGE-producing cells were adherent monocyte/macrophages. At 24 and 48 h after stimulation with PHA, MS unfractionated MNC produced significantly more PGE than OND and normal MNC; at 24 and 72 h, MS NWAd cells produced significantly more PGE than normals and ONDs. MS and ONDs produced the same amount of PGE at 48 h in the stimulated NWAd fraction.