Administration of dehydroepiandrosterone to burned mice preserves normal immunologic competence
B. A. Araneo, J. Shelby, G. Z. Li, W. Ku and R. A. Daynes
Division of Cell Biology and Immunology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City 84132.
Burned individuals display a reduced ability to elicit cellular and humoral
immune responses and a depression in the vitro production of certain T-cell
lymphokines. Treatment of burned mice with 100 micrograms of
dehydroepiandrosterone within 1 hour after injury resulted in preserving a
completely normal capacity to produce T-cell-derived lymphokines and to
generate cellular immune responses. In addition,
dehydroepiandrosterone-treated thermally injured mice demonstrated an
above-normal ability to resist an induced infection with the intracellular
pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes. Dehydroepiandrosterone-treated animals
also did not exhibit the sustained plasma levels of interleukin 6 that
normally accompany thermal injury and infection. Because of its
antiglucocorticoid effects and positive immunoregulatory influences, we
believe dehydroepiandrosterone to be a beneficial form of therapy for
thermally injured individuals.
