Modulation by lipopolysaccharide of inflammatory cytokine production by two T cell lines.

In this study, the modulation of inflammatory cytokine production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in two T cell lines, RL-male-1 and L5178Y-ML was examined. Both cell lines produced interleukin 1 (IL-1) activity in response to LPS, which was largely independent of the presence of serum. The IL-1 activity induced was neutralized by an anti-IL-1beta antibody, but not by an anti-IL-1alpha antibody. Induction of IL-1alpha and beta was also confirmed by polymerase chain reaction of reverse-transcribed mRNA (RT-PCR), although in RL-male-1 cells, IL-1alpha mRNA was constitutively expressed and somewhat enhanced by LPS. RT-PCR analysis revealed that these cell lines also upregulated tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-1 receptor antagonist mRNAs in response to LPS, although RL-male-1 cells expressed TNF-alpha mRNA constitutively. Flow cytometric analysis showed that, although these cells expressed Thy-1 antigen, they hardly expressed CD14 and gammadelta T cell receptor. In conclusion, LPS modulated inflammatory cytokine production in these T cell lines.