Generation of an anti-interleukin 2 factor in healing wounds
R. J. Breslin, A. Barbul, T. S. Kupper, J. P. Knud-Hansen, H. L. Wasserkrug and G. Efron
Department of Surgery, Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21215.
Previously we have noted that fluid obtained from ten-day-old healing
wounds noncytotoxically inhibits the blastogenesis of lymphocytes in
response to mitogens or antigens. Since these lymphocytic responses are
interleukin 2 (IL-2)-mediated, we looked for a specific IL-2 inhibitor in
wound fluid. We have found that wound fluid blocks the response of thymic
lymphocytes and of two cloned T-helper cell lines (D10 and HT2) to
exogenous human recombinant IL-2. The wound fluid enhances fibroblast
proliferation, thus demonstrating that its proliferative inhibitory
activity is specific for lymphocytes. The findings suggest that wound fluid
contains a factor that impairs lymphocyte response to IL-2, probably at the
receptor or postreceptor level.