The Inhibitory Effects of Prednisone, 16-Methylen-Prednisolone, and Acth on Con-A Induced Lymphokines (Interferon-Y) as Measured by the Chemiluminescence-Activity of Blood Monocytes

When lymphocytes are stimulated with mitogens or antigens they are enhanced via a cascade of lymphokines to produce interferon-y (IFN-y). IFN-y augments the H2O2 secretion of human monocytes which indirectly can be measured by chemiluminescence. We tested prednisone, 16-methylen-prednisolone and ACTH for their effect to inhibit the Con-A induced stimulation of the chemiluminescence-activity. All three hormones inhibited significantly the stimulation: prednisone up to 52.5% (concentration = 150 micrograms/ml, p = 0.000005), 16-methylen-prednisolone up to 22.5% (concentration = 2.5 micrograms/ml, p = 0.006) and ACTH up to 33% (concentration = 10 micrograms/ml, p = 0.0036).