1990 Volume 23 Issue 1 Pages 99-104
β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) production by the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), lymphocytes and monocytes of hemodialysis (HD) patients was compared in vitro with that of healthy individuals.
In cultures of up to 96 hours, the levels of spontaneous production of β2-MG by PBMC, lymphocytes and monocytes were not significantly different in the two groups.
However, the amount of β2-MG produced by the PBMC of HD patients stimulated for 96 hours in culture by 10μg of phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P) per ml was significantly less than that of healthy individuals (p<0.005). In HD patients with a serum β2-MG level of more than 60mg, the β2-MG production by PBMC induced by 100 JRU of IFN-γ per ml was significantly less than that of the control group (p<0.05). Therefore, the amounts of β2-MG produced by the lymphocytes and monocytes of HD patients with a serum level of more than 60mg/l was investigated with the use of a serum-free medium. β2-MG production by both the lymphocytes and monocytes stimulated by 100 JRU of IFN-γ perml was decreased. However, the uptake of 3H-TdR by the IFN-γ treated PBMC did not change compared with the control group.
These findings suggest that the PBMC of HD patients have some abnormal cellular response to IFN-γ and PHA-P. In addition, the β2-MG itself might be a mixture of free β2-MG, modified β2-MG and HLA-associated β2-MG. Therefore it is important to determine the precise ratio of each type of β2-MG in the serum and culture supernatant.
