The effect of 2'deoxyguanosine on human lymphocyte responses. II. 2'deoxyguanosine enhances PWM-induced B cell differentiation.

Addition of 40 microM 2'deoxyguanosine (2'd Guo) results in enhancement of human lymphocyte cultures stimulated with pokeweed mitogen, assessed by staining intracytoplasmic immunoglobulins. Furthermore, B cell responses were enhanced under experimental conditions favouring T cell suppression rather than help. Experiments with enriched B cell fractions indicate that 2'dGuo does not directly stimulate B cell responses. The enhancement by 2'dGuo was still observed in the presence of irradiated (non-proliferating) T cells. The mechanism of enhancement by 2'dGuo is discussed in terms of its effect on proliferation-independent suppressor T cells.