Isoprinosine enhances PHA responses and has potential effect on natural killer cell (NK) activity of uremic patients in vitro.

We studied the effect of an immuno-stimulating agent, isoprinosine, which is being marketed as an antiviral drug, on some immune functions in vitro in 14 uremic patients treated by hemodialysis and in 10 healthy controls. PHA and PPD induced stimulations of DNA synthesis and interleukin-2 (Il-2) production and NK cell activity were measured from peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultured with and without isoprinosine. PHA responses were enhanced by isoprinosine (100 micrograms/ml) both in the patient group (p less than 0.001) and in the control group (p less than 0.05) but PPD responses in neither. The enhancement of PHA responses was not due to an increased production of Il-2(T-cell growth factor). Isoprinosine augmented NK activity in those patients whose NK activity was initially low. No enhancement could be seen in the controls or in those patients whose NK activity was comparable to that of the controls. Our results motivate a clinical study with isoprinosine in uremic patients at the risk of virus infection.