Cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone affect the response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to mycobacterial antigens during tuberculosis

MAHUAD C; BAY ML; FARRONI M; BOZZA V; DEL REY A; BESEDOVSKY H; BOTTASSO O; BOTTASSO OSCAR

SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Oslo; Año: 2004 vol. 60 p. 639 - 646

0300-9475

The effect of cortisol and/or dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on the immuneresponse to antigens obtained from Mycobacterium tuberculosis was studied invitro by using peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from patients atvarious stages of lung tuberculosis (TB) and from healthy control people (HCo).The results obtained show for the first time that addition of cortisol withinconcentrations of physiological range can inhibit the mycobacterial antigendrivenproliferation of cells from HCo and TB patients and the production ofinterferon-g (IFN-g), indicating that endogenous levels of cortisol may contributeto the decreased lymphoid cell response to mycobacterium antigensobserved in TB patients. DHEA did not affect lymphoid cell proliferation,IFN-g production and the cortisol-mediated inhibitory effects. Interestingly,we found that DHEA, but not cortisol, suppressed the in vitro transforminggrowth factor-b production by lymphoid cells from TB patients with anadvanced disease, which is indicative of a selective direct effect of this hormone.