SHORT COMMUNICATIONS: Induction of Interferon Gamma in Leucocyte Cultures of the Peripheral Blood of Mice

The present report summarizes a number of approaches to elicit the production of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) in leucocytes derived from the peripheral blood of mice. Only moderate titers were observed when the blood cells were obtained from untreated mice. Significantly higher IFN production in response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or Concanavalin A (Con A) was observed when mice were tested after pretreatment with B. pertussis organisms, which caused a marked lymphocytosis. Additionally, two restimulation approaches are presented which are based on preactivation of peripheral leucocytes with Con A (plus in one case with T cell growth factor) and subsequent restimulation with different mitogens. These techniques allow to obtain high yields of IFN-gamma in lymphocyte cultures derived from the peripheral blood of mice.