picibanil and Psoriasis

It was previously reported that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the patients with psoriasis vulgaris (PV) showed a reduced proliferative response in vitro to the stimulation of a lyophilized preparation of penicillin-treated low virulence Su-strain of Streptococcus pyogenes group 3, OK-432. In this study, at first it was examined whether OK-432 acts as a superantigen. By analyzing the usage of Vbeta T-cell receptor (TCR) of proliferating T cells stimulated with OK-432, it was found that OK-432 stimulated preferentially Vbeta2 TCR-bearing T cells. Next, to find differences in in vitro responses of PBMC among various types of sterile pustular dermatoses such as pustulosis palmaris et plantaris (PPP), acrodermatitis continua of Hallopeau (AC), and generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), the proliferative responses of PBMC obtained from these patients under the stimulation of OK-432 were compared. When the PBMC was stimulated with interleukin (IL)-2, no significant difference was found in their proliferative responses among those obtained from the patients with these sterile pustular dermatoses, PV or healthy controls. However, like those from PV patients, PBMC from AC and GPP patients showed significantly smaller responses to OK-432 than those from the healthy controls. In contrast, the proliferative responses of PBMC from the patients with PPP to OK-432 was comparable to those from healthy controls. These results, in addition to its unique clinical and histopathological characteristics, suggest that PPP has a different pathogenetic background from that underlying PV, AC, or GPP.

Topics: Acrodermatitis; Cell Division; Cells, Cultured; Humans; Middle Aged; Monocytes; Picibanil; Psoriasis; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; Reference Values; T-Lymphocytes

The previous paper demonstrated that tonsillar cells cultured in vitro in the presence or absence of a streptococcal preparation, OK-432, produce factors that activate various neutrophil functions. In the present study, examination was made of the factor productivity of tonsillar cells from patients with chronic tonsillitis of varying severity, and palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP). Tonsillar cells from patients with severe tonsillitis and PPP incubated with culture medium alone produced a much greater amount of active factors compared with those from patients with mild tonsillitis. When tonsillar cells were incubated in the presence of OK-432, augmentation in factor production by the addition of OK-432 was less in former than latter cases, suggesting that factor production from tonsils correlates with the course of inflammation in this organ.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Biological Factors; Cell Adhesion; Cells, Cultured; Chemotaxis, Leukocyte; Child; Child, Preschool; Culture Media; Female; Humans; Luminescent Measurements; Male; Middle Aged; Neutrophils; Palatine Tonsil; Picibanil; Psoriasis; Recurrence; Sleep Apnea Syndromes; Tonsillitis

We have examined the effects of four well-characterized cytokines with T lymphocyte-stimulatory activity, i.e., interleukin (IL)-2, IL-3, IL-4, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on [3H]-thymidine incorporation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMs) obtained from patients with psoriasis. Under the influence of these cytokines, the incorporation of [3H]-thymidine into the PBMs was not different between psoriatic patients and healthy controls either in culture supplemented with pooled AB serum or with autologous serum. However, a potent immunopotentiator OK-432, which is a lyophilized preparation of penicillin-treated low virulence Su-strain of Streptococcus pyogenes group A3, induced significantly less incorporation of [3H]-thymidine into the PBMs from psoriatic patients than those from healthy controls [in both the culture supplemented with pooled AB serum (p less than 0.01) and that with autologous serum (p less than 0.01)]. This reduction in thymidine uptake was closely related to the disease activity as well as to the extent of skin lesions of the psoriatic patients. The defective immune response of PBMs from psoriatic patients to OK-432 probably reflects an abnormality at the level of interaction between monocytes and T cells or at the subsequent production and release of cytokines by them.

Topics: Adult; Biological Products; Cell Division; Cells, Cultured; Colony-Stimulating Factors; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor; Growth Substances; Humans; Interleukins; Middle Aged; Monocytes; Osmolar Concentration; Picibanil; Psoriasis; Reference Values; Skin; Time Factors