Agents which block membrane lipid peroxidation enhance mouse spleen cell immune activities in vitro: relationship to the enhancing activity of 2-mercaptoethanol.

A broad spectrum of agents known to block various steps in the lipid peroxidation process were tested for their ability to protect mouse spleen cells and thereby enhance their activities, in vitro, in either the primary antibody response or the lipopolysaccharide-stimulated proliferation response. Each agent (superoxide dismutase, butylated hydroxyanisole/butylated hydroxytoluene/n-propyl gallate, lucigenin, and alpha-tocopherol) was able to enhance the cellular response in both assay systems. The degree of enhancement of these immune functions was in proportion to the efficacy of each agent in blocking the overall process in lipid peroxidation. Previous work in this laboratory has shown that the enhancement of the primary antibody response by 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) is mediated by the enhanced availability of reduced glutathione in the culture medium. Suboptimal doses of each lipid antioxidant agent were able to enhance the antibody response in the additive manner with a suboptimal dose of 2-ME up to a maximum response equal to that achieved with an optimal dose of 2-ME alone. These data support the hypothesis that the enhancement of cellular responses in the presence of 2-ME is mediated by the lipid antioxidant activity of reduced glutathione.