The efficacy of thalidomide (α-phthalimido-glutarimide) therapy in leprosy patients with erythema nodosum leprosum is thought to be due to inhibition of tumor necrosis factor α. In other diseases reported to respond to thalidomide, the mechanism of action of the drug is unclear. We show that thalidomide is a potent costimulator of primary human T cells in vitro, synergizing with stimulation via the T cell receptor complex to increase interleukin 2–mediated T cell proliferation and interferon γ production. The costimulatory effect is greater on the CD8+ than the CD4+ T cell subset. The drug also increases the primary CD8+ cytotoxic T cell response induced by allogeneic dendritic cells in the absence of CD4+ T cells. Therefore, human T cell costimulation can be achieved pharmacologically with thalidomide, and preferentially in the CD8+ T cell subset.
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1 June 1998
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June 01 1998
Thalidomide Costimulates Primary Human T Lymphocytes, Preferentially Inducing Proliferation, Cytokine Production, and Cytotoxic Responses in the CD8+ Subset
Patrick A.J. Haslett,
Patrick A.J. Haslett
From The Rockefeller University, New York 10021-6399
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Laura G. Corral,
Laura G. Corral
From The Rockefeller University, New York 10021-6399
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Matthew Albert,
Matthew Albert
From The Rockefeller University, New York 10021-6399
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Gilla Kaplan
Gilla Kaplan
From The Rockefeller University, New York 10021-6399
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Patrick A.J. Haslett
From The Rockefeller University, New York 10021-6399
Laura G. Corral
From The Rockefeller University, New York 10021-6399
Matthew Albert
From The Rockefeller University, New York 10021-6399
Gilla Kaplan
From The Rockefeller University, New York 10021-6399
Address correspondence to Patrick A.J. Haslett, Laboratory of Cellular Physiology and Immunology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave., New York, NY 10021-6399. Phone: 212-327-7433; Fax: 212-327-8875; E-mail: [email protected]
Received:
January 28 1998
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
1998
J Exp Med (1998) 187 (11): 1885–1892.
Article history
Received:
January 28 1998
Citation
Patrick A.J. Haslett, Laura G. Corral, Matthew Albert, Gilla Kaplan; Thalidomide Costimulates Primary Human T Lymphocytes, Preferentially Inducing Proliferation, Cytokine Production, and Cytotoxic Responses in the CD8+ Subset . J Exp Med 1 June 1998; 187 (11): 1885–1892. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.187.11.1885
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