The combined effects of cortisol and agents acting through a cyclic AMP-mediated mechanism have been studied in cultures of highly purified human peripheral lymphocytes. Incubation with prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), dibutyryl cyclic AMP, or cortisol results in a concentration-dependent inhibition of [3H]-thymidine incorporation by both unstimulated and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated lymphocytes, and PHA-induced morphologic transformation is prevented. When cortisol and PGE1 (or dibutyryl cyclic AMP) are added together to lymphocyte cultures, enhanced inhibitory effects are observed.
John Mendelsohn, Michael M. Multer, Robert F. Boone