[Multiple sclerosis: IL-2, IFN-tau and PGE2 secretion in mononuclear cell cultures stimulated with PHA and the effect of these cytokines on oligodendroglial cells].

The production of interferon-tau (IFN-tau), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and the repercussion which these cytokines have on the growth and activity of the 2', 3' and cyclonucleotide-3'-phosphohydrolase (CNP) of cultures of rat oligodendrocytes were analyzed. The study was carried out in a group of patients (20 with active disease, 23 in remission) with defined multiple sclerosis (MS), a group of subjects with other central nervous system diseases (OCNSD) and a group of 20 healthy (HS). Increases in PGE2 were found in PBMC cultures of patients with MS (p < 0.0005, ANOVA test) and the production of PGE2 in patients with active MS correlated positively (R2 = 0.743, p = 0.02) with CNP activity in the oligodendroglial cultures. These results suggest that PGE2 may influence in the re-myelinization process.