26 The subsequent reinstatement of the IL-4 response at day 7, in conjunction with falling IL-10 production, is fully consistent with the auto-regulatory action of the latter cytokine.26 A sub-group of the donors (33%) reacted to TG with high CD4+ T-cell proliferation and IFN-γ production rates, similar those seen upon TT stimulation. On the other hand, the profile for all other cytokines was indistinguishable from

that of the TG ‘low IFN-γ responders’, indicating that the breakaway from an essentially regulatory response was only partially successful. In selleck chemical an earlier study, however, where the concentration of TG employed was threefold higher than that used here, normal PBMC produced significant quantities of IL-2 (at day 1), IFN-γ and IL-5 (days 5 and 7) as well as approximately twofold lower amounts of IL-10.13 Hence, at higher levels of autoantigenic stimulation, the regulatory effect of the initially produced IL-10 may be overridden. We have previously reported that normal or even slightly elevated IL-10 responses accompany exaggerated TG-induced Th1 responses in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Graves’ disease,13 suggesting that a pathological

outcome of T-cell responses to TG may depend on the balance between Th1 cytokines and IL-10, rather than on a lack of IL-10 production. In this connection, it would be of interest CP-673451 molecular weight to establish whether the high production of IFN-γ exhibited

by one-third of the donors, in response to TG, is associated with enhanced risk for the development of autoimmune thyroid disease. On day 1, after challenge with TG, monocytes were identified as the primary producers of IL-10 (see Figs 4 and 5), although a small population of IL-10-secreting CD4+ T cells with memory phenotype was also detected. Notably, depletion of CD3-positive cells, from the PBMC employed, abrogated find more the IL-10 response, indicating that TG-specific T cells exert a decisive influence in steering the monocyte response towards this antigen in an anti-inflammatory direction. The fact that cytokine production in response to TG differs so markedly in degree from that seen with KLH (as a primary antigen of comparable size), and in character from that observed with TT, strongly suggests that experienced T cells of a regulatory phenotype may be orchestrating the response. The development of such IL-10 memory responses has been shown to arise from repetitive stimulation of T cells via the T-cell receptor, resulting in their repeated exposure to IL-4.27,28 As an indigenous (auto-)antigen, TG should be ideally suited to provide such stimulation. In summary, TG induces in vitro a rapid proliferative response by peripheral CD4+ T cells from normal healthy individuals, indicative of previous in vivo experience of the antigen.