Manipulation of the superantigen‐induced lymphokine response. Selective induction of interleukin‐10 or interferon‐γ synthesis in small resting CD4+ T cells

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Abstract
The production of several lymphokines by freshly isolated CD4+ T cells has been analyzed at the single‐cell level, after stimulation with staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). High frequencies of cells producing interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) and interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) were induced, but very low frequencies of CD4+ T cells produced IL‐4, IL‐5 or IL‐10 in response to SEB. Exogenously added IL‐4 markedly altered the lymphokine profile induced during primary SEB stimulation. IFN‐γ production was reduced, while a high fraction of cells contained IL‐10 and IL‐4 after activation in the presence of IL‐4. We further demonstrate that IL‐4 and IL‐10 or IFN‐y production was selectively induced in resting, high‐density CD4+ T cells during primary stimulation, by SEB + IL‐4 or SEB. Under conditions where both IL‐10 and IFN‐γ were produced, most cells contained only one of the two lymphokines.