| Summary: | Interleukin 2 (IL-2), a lymphokine produced by thymus-derived lymphocytes, has been shown (1, 2) to have a variety of immunologic functions in vitro including an important role in regulating the growth and differentiation of T lymphocytes. It has also been shown (3-5) that in vivo administration of IL-2 can modify immune responses in nude and normal mice. However, the effects of IL-2 on immune responses under control of Ir genes have not been tested. We have been studying the H-2-1inked Ir gene control of the antibody and T cell responses to sperm whale myoglobin, a model globular protein antigen. Both the T cell proliferative response and the antibody response to myoglobin are controlled in parallel by H-2-1inked genes (6, 7). The availability of large amounts of highly purified recombinant IL-2 (8) prompted us to evaluate the influence of IL-2 on immune responses under Ir gene control. For this purpose, we immunized low- and high-responder mice with myoglobin together with IL-2, and evaluated its effects on antibody responses. The results show that in vivo administration of IL-2 with myoglobin significantly enhances the antibody response in Iow-responder mice, to levels similar to those in high-responder mice. Materials and Methods
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