Diminished interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production by bacterial antigen-specific T cells in atopic patients

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Abstract
In this study, we established and studied cytokine production of T cell lines (TCL) specific to either a purified protein derivative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PPD) or Dermatophagoides farinae (Df) from atopic patients and non‐atopic healthy subjects. IFN‐γ was detected in the culture supernatants of all of 36 PPD‐specific TCL established from healthy controls, whereas only 24 of 38 PPD‐specific TCL from patients produced IFN‐γ. Furthermore, the amounts of IFN‐γ produced by PPD‐specific TCL from patients were significantly lower than those from healthy controls. No IL‐4 was detected in any PPD‐specific TCL from either healthy controls or atopic patients. The amounts of IL‐4 production from Df‐specific TCL from atopic patients were much higher than from healthy controls, while few TCL produced IFN‐γ. These results suggest that the skewing to the Th2‐type T cell response in atopic patients is a response not only to allergens, but also to bacterial antigens, compared with non‐atopic subjects. Activation of PPD‐specific TCL from patients with calcium ionophore A23187 plus phorbol myristate acetate resulted in much higher IFN‐γ production than in TCL established from healthy controls, indicating that the low production of IFN‐γ by PPD‐specific T cells from atopic patients is not due to an intrinsic T cell defect but to some regulatory mechanisms.

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