Augmentation of the Antibody Response by Lipoic Acid in Mice I. Analysis of the Mode of Action in an In Vitro Culture System

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Abstract
Lipoic acid (Lip), a naturally occurring disulfide compound, was found to augment markedly in vito antibody responses to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC), dinitrophenyl-Ficoll and trinitrophenyl-lipopolysaccharide (TNP-LPS) as effectively as 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) in murine lymphocytes. The mitogenic response to LPS or concanavalin A (Con A) was augmented by Lip only slightly. 2-ME has been reported to facilitate cystine utilization by the lymphocytes, but Lip did not, indicating that the mode of action of Lip is different from that of 2-ME. Lip augmentation of anti-SRBC response was markedly abrogated when murine lymphocytes were depleted of T cells and cultured in the presence of Con A-conditioned medium containing T cell-replacing factor. The effect of Lip was also diminished in the response to TNP-LPS when the spleen cells were depleted of T cells. These observation suggest that Lip could augment the antibody response by stimulating a T cell subpopulation. This idea was confirmed by the experiment that Lip could enhance helper T cell activity which was induced by culturing murine lymphocytes with the antigen.

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