The effect of thymic humoral factor on intracellular lymphocyte cyclic AMP in alcoholic liver disease.

Intracellular levels of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) in resting peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM) were determined in patients with alcoholic hepatitis (AH), with compensated alcoholic cirrhosis, in alcoholic subjects without liver disease and in healthy controls. The effect of thymic humoral factor (THF), a polypeptide extract of the thymus, on T lymphocyte cAMP levels was also evaluated. Only PBM from patients with AH had significantly lower resting levels of cAMP when compared to the controls. The net increase in cAMP levels induced with THF were comparable for all patient and control groups. These findings indicate the presence of an immune dysfunction in patients with AH.