Expression Pattern of Interferon-γ in Human Leukemic T Cell Lines Following Treatment with Phytoheamagglutinin, phorbol myristate acetate and Lipopolysaccharide

Background: as a t helper type 1 (th1) derived cytokine, interferon gamma (ifn-γ) is an important regulator of inflammatory immune responses. furthermore, ifn-γ plays an essential role in defense against tumors and intracellular pathogens. this study was designed to assess the pattern of ifn-γ production in human leukemic (jurkat and molt-4) t cell lines in vitro. methods: jurkat and molt-4 cells were cultured in whole rpmi-1640 media. the cells were imbedded at a density of 2×106 cell/ml. the cells were stimulated with different concentrations of phytoheamagglutinin (pha) (2-10 μg/ml), phorbol myristate acetate (pma) (1-25 ng/ml) or lipopolysaccharide (lps) (1-4 μg/ml) for activation and cytokine production for 48 hours. then the cell-conditioned media were used for ifn-γ assay. analysis of variance (anova) was done for comparing the groups statistically. results: pha and pma substantially augmented ifn-γ level in human leukemic t cells (molt-4 and jurkat) in a dose-dependent manner after 48 hours of incubation compared with untreated control cells, whereas lps did not have any significant effect on ifn-γ production in human leukemic t cell lines compared with unstimulated cells. conclusion: human leukemic jurkat and molt-4 t cell lines could potentially produce ifn-γ with different amounts. pha was a more potent stimulator of ifn-γ production than pma. molt-4 cell line could produce more ifn-γ than jurkat cell line. these cells could be appropriate for studying the mechanisms of action of immunomodulators as well as screening the ifn-γ stimulators/inhibitors.