Concanavalin A-induced suppressor cell activity in lipoid nephrosis.

Suppressor cell activity (SCA) was analysed in 28 patients with lipoid nephrosis (LN) and 11 patients with chronic proliferative glomerulonephritis (CGN). We have assessed the ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) stimulated by concanavalin A (Con A) to inhibit the proliferative response of normal allogeneic lymphocytes by both Con A and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). It was found that the LN patients in the earlier phase of relapse had significantly increased levels of suppression index (SI) were compared with the values obtained with normal controls. In contrast, the mean suppression values in the PBL from LN patients in remission and CGN patients with or without nephrotic syndrome, whether the mitogen used was Con A or PHA, were similar to those of the control subjects. Moreover, when individual patients were followed through their clinical illness, LN patients had high levels of SI, particularly in the beginning of acute exacerbations; the SI levels than decreased sharply in the latter phase of relapse and again increased to relatively normal levels with the onset of clinical remission. These in vitro findings suggest that there exists an alteration in Con A-induced SCA in a group of patients with LN.