Regulatory Role of Interleukins 5 and 6 on Immunoglobulin Production in Cultured Rat Salivary Glands

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The effects of interleukin-5 and interleukin-6 on immunoglobulin production in rat salivary glands were investigated using an in vitro tissue culture system. Detectable levels of IgA, IgG and IgM were observed in the culture media of unstimulated tissues of rat salivary glands after 7 days in culture. Incubation of the tissues with recombinant murine IL-5 (50 U/ml) enhanced the levels of IgA (205% of the control) and IgG (136% of the control), but had no effect on the levels of IgM. Similarly, incubation with recombinant human IL-6 (50 U/ml) enhanced IgA (224% of the control) and IgG (149% of the control) production, but had no effect on IgM. A combination of both IL-5 and IL-6 had no additional effect on the enhanced IgA levels than that seen with IL-5 or IL-6 alone. These data demonstrate a potential regulatory function of lymphokines in glandular mucosal tissue that differs from that previously noted in experiments with cultured rat lacrimal glands or isolated cells derived from both mucosal and non-mucosal tissues.