The Journal of Immunology, Vol 141, Issue 9 3037-3042, Copyright © 1988 by American Association of Immunologists

ARTICLES

Production of human bone marrow-derived suppressor factor. Effect on antibody synthesis and lectin-activated cell proliferation

F Mortari and SK Singhal
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.

Natural suppressor cells resident in normal human bone marrow (BM) exert potent suppressor activity on in vitro antibody responses and other immune functions. A suppressor-enriched population of BM cells can constitutively produce a soluble mediator with similar suppressor activity and kinetics as the suppressor cells. This novel BM-derived suppressor factor (BDSF) suppresses human in vitro primary antibody responses as well as lectin-activated proliferative responses. The mediator (BDSF) has a Mr of less than 1.5 kDa, contains a lipid component, and is insensitive to indomethacin treatment. The BM cells producing the factor bear the HNK-1 surface marker but not T, B, or macrophage markers. The ability of BDSF to suppress Ag-dependent IgM responses during the inductive phase makes it an ideal molecule with the potential to regulate early immune and hemopoietic events within the BM compartment.