Lithium in vitro enhances interleukin-2 production by T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Cellular immunity is impaired in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A decreased production of interleukin-2 by T cells isolated from blood of patients with SLE was found. The decrease correlated with severity of the disease. It was shown that incubation in vitro of T cells with 5 mM of lithium chloride augmented interleukin-2 production. The increase in cultures of T cells from patients with SLE was higher that than in healthy individuals. It is believed that lithium increases the cytosol inositol triphosphate level and subsequently augmented impaired intracellular signal transduction in the T cells from patients with SLE.