The roles of monocytes and the interaction between monocyte and T cell in human immune suppression induced by trichosanthin

: This paper deals with the roles of monocytes and the interaction between T cell and monocyte in Trichosanthin-induced human immune suppression. The data strongly argue that (a) monocytes could mediate the immune suppression of Trichosanthin, but T cells alone could not; (b) T cells acquire the ability to mediate the suppression effect if they were pulsed with Trichosanthin together with monocytes; (c) Antipain, a blocking agent against antigen processing and presentation, could diminish the suppressive activity of the Trichosanthin-pulsed monocytes. The results suggested the dependence of Trichosanthin on monocyte in immune down-regulation. One of the mechanisms might be that Trichosanthin induces an inhibitory network through antigen processing and presentation by monocytes.