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

Mahuad C, Bay ML, Farroni MA, Bozza V, Del Rey A, Besedovsky H, Bottasso OA

Instituto de Inmunología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina.

The effect of cortisol and/or dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on the immune response to antigens obtained from Mycobacterium tuberculosis was studied in vitro by using peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from patients at various stages of lung tuberculosis (TB) and from healthy control people (HCo). The results obtained show for the first time that addition of cortisol within concentrations of physiological range can inhibit the mycobacterial antigen-driven proliferation of cells from HCo and TB patients and the production of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), indicating that endogenous levels of cortisol may contribute to the decreased lymphoid cell response to mycobacterium antigens observed in TB patients. DHEA did not affect lymphoid cell proliferation, IFN-gamma production and the cortisol-mediated inhibitory effects. Interestingly, we found that DHEA, but not cortisol, suppressed the in vitro transforming growth factor-beta production by lymphoid cells from TB patients with an advanced disease, which is indicative of a selective direct effect of this hormone.

Published 8 December 2004 in Scand J Immunol, 60(6): 639-46.
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