Lymphocyte Proliferation in AIDS-Related Complex/Walter-Reed 5 Patients: Response to Herpes Simplex Virus and Tuberculin Antigen and Mitogen during Intravenous Immunoglobulin Treatment

Abstract

In a randomized, controlled double-blind study, 15 patients with AIDS-related complex/Walter-Reed 5 (ARC/WR5) were compared during 6 months intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment (0.4g/kg body weight every 2 weeks) with 15 placebo-treated patients. This study was aimed at the lymphocyte response to T and B cell mitogens and antigens. 3H-thymidine uptake was determined after stimulation with the unspecific mitogens phytohemagglutinin (PHA), pokeweed mitogen (PWM), formalinized Staphylococcus aureus-Cowan I (SAC), and with the antigens tuberculin and herpes simplex virus (HSV) at the onset, on days 85, 183, 267 and 351; IgG and IgM antibodies against HSV were measured by ELISA. In addition, 30 untreated HIV-negative controls were tested. For the T cell mitogen PHA, T-cell-dependent B cell mitogen PWM and B cell mitogen SAC, no differences between the two patient groups were observed before therapy nor in the course of therapy or the 6-month observation period thereafter. The entire patient group showed significantly impaired mitogenic response on day 1 as compared to the controls. There was no significant difference in response to tuberculin between the patients and HIV-negative controls, nor for both patients groups before and in the course of treatment. All patients had IgG antibodies against HSV. Three of them showed blastogenie lymphocyte response to HSV on day 1. Among 19 seropositive controls, 7 individuals showed positive HSV lymphocyte response; but for both patient groups, there was no significant difference before and in the course of the treatment and observation period. We concluded that, in spite of some clinical improvement regarding fever and fatigue during IVIG treatment of ARC/WR5 patients, there is no influence on lymphocyte function, as measured by response to mitogens and antigens.

Purification and characterization of a mucin-binding mycelial lectin from Aspergillus nidulans with potent mitogenic activity

“…Lectins from other ascomycete fungi including other Aspergillus species have not been investigated so far for mitogenic potential. Mitogenic lectins have been routinely used to assess the immunocompetence of patients suffering from a variety of diseases and scrutinize the functioning of immune system under abnormal conditions (Krickeberg et al 1990). This report will prompt the researchers to investigate mitogenic activity among fungal lectins, which has still remained unexplored.…”

Defective IL-6 secretion in HIV-infected haemophilia patients

“…Early onset AZT treatmenl mighi be necessary to achieve such an effect. Intravenous IgG treatmenl as in [irevious studies [43][44][45]-did not result in improved immune responses.…”

Virological Examinations of Patients with AIDS-Related Complex/Walter-Reed 5 Enrolled in a Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study with Intravenous Gammaglobulin Administration

“…In pediatric AIDS, improvement of clinical and immunological parameters has been reported as a result of IVIG therapy with a decreasing number of bacterial infections [l-31. Some observations tend to explain the effects of IVIG as an inhibition of polyclonal B cell proliferation [28] and, thereby, probably as a protection against autoimmune phenomena [28,29].…”