Nakano Y, Pross S, Friedman H
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa 33612.
Life Sci. 1993;52(1):41-51. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(93)90287-d.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the immunomodulatory effect of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on spleen and lymph node cells of adult and young mice. When plant mitogen (Con A or PHA) stimulated cells were treated with varying doses of THC, the proliferation of spleen and lymph node cells of adult and young mice was suppressed. This suppression was found to be compatible with a decrease in number of Tac positive cells as well as a down-regulation of IL-2 activity. In contrast, when these cells were stimulated with anti-CD3 antibody in combination with THC, the pattern of the immunomodulation as well as the absolute effects of the drug differed with the age of the mice as well as the organ of origin of the cells. In this regard, anti-CD3 antibody stimulation in combination with low doses of THC stimulated proliferation of splenocytes obtained from adult mice. The stimulation was found to reflect an increase in the number of both suppressor/cytotoxic T cells (Ly2 cells) as well as Tac positive cells. IL-2 activity was found to be enhanced under these conditions. This up-regulation of responsiveness was not seen in either lymph node cells of adult or young mice or in spleen cells of young mice. The THC modulating activity is directly related to its effect on both IL-2 activity and generation of Tac positive cells in spleen and lymph node cells of both adult and young mice. It appears, therefore, that not only age, but also lymphoid organ system differences are important factors in terms of considering the effects of drugs of abuse.
本研究的目的是调查δ-9-四氢大麻酚（THC）对成年和幼年小鼠脾脏及淋巴结细胞的免疫调节作用。当用不同剂量的THC处理植物有丝分裂原（刀豆蛋白A或植物血凝素）刺激的细胞时，成年和幼年小鼠脾脏及淋巴结细胞的增殖受到抑制。发现这种抑制与Tac阳性细胞数量的减少以及IL-2活性的下调相一致。相比之下，当这些细胞用抗CD3抗体联合THC刺激时，免疫调节模式以及药物的绝对作用因小鼠年龄以及细胞的来源器官而异。在这方面，低剂量THC联合抗CD3抗体刺激可促进成年小鼠脾细胞的增殖。发现这种刺激反映了抑制性/细胞毒性T细胞（Ly2细胞）以及Tac阳性细胞数量的增加。在这些条件下，IL-2活性增强。在成年或幼年小鼠的淋巴结细胞或幼年小鼠的脾细胞中均未观察到这种反应性的上调。THC的调节活性与其对成年和幼年小鼠脾脏及淋巴结细胞中IL-2活性和Tac阳性细胞生成的影响直接相关。因此，就考虑滥用药物的影响而言，似乎不仅年龄，而且淋巴器官系统差异也是重要因素。
