Gangliosides interact with interleukin-4 and inhibit interleukin-4-stimulated helper T-cell proliferation.

Gangliosides are potent immunosuppressive agents in vitro, and gangliosides shed from tumours in vivo may play an important role in the escape of tumours from immune destruction. We have investigated the effect of gangliosides on interleukin-4 (IL-4)-mediated processes in the murine helper T-cell line HT-2. Various gangliosides inhibited IL-4-stimulated DNA synthesis in HT-2 with IC50 values in the range 26-60 micrograms/ml. However, the proliferation of four lymphokine-independent cell lines was unaffected by 500 micrograms/ml gangliosides, as was the IL-1-stimulated secretion of IL-2 by EL-4 NOB-1 cells. Gangliosides were highly effective inhibitors when added to G0-G1-synchronized HT-2 cells during the first 6 hr after IL-4 stimulation, indicating that they act early in the IL-4 signalling pathway. High levels of exogenous IL-4 completely reversed inhibition of proliferation by gangliosides, which suggests that gangliosides compete with cellular IL-4 receptors for available lymphokine. Receptor-binding experiments confirmed that gangliosides blocked binding of [125I]IL-4 to receptors on intact HT-2 cells in a dose-dependent fashion. Gel-filtration fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) demonstrated that [125I]IL-4 co-eluted with ganglioside micelles after co-incubation before chromatography, and an overlay technique showed that IL-4 bound efficiently to gangliosides on thin-layer chromatography plates. Taken together, these results indicate that gangliosides act as potent suppressors of IL-4-dependent processes in lymphocytes, and that their mechanism of action involves direct interaction with IL-4, thus preventing IL-4 binding to high-affinity IL-4 receptors. This information helps to explain the diverse immunosuppressive actions reported for gangliosides, both in vitro and in vivo.