Regulatory roles of T mu and T gamma cells in the collaborative cellular initiation of the extrinsic coagulation pathway by bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

The Shwartzman reaction is a classic biologic response in which the coagulation system is activated in vivo. Cellular initiation of the extrinsic coagulation protease cascade can be mediated by one or more limbs of the lymphoid response to diverse biological stimuli. The T cell-instructed monocyte and macrophage responses that have been implicated are mediated by a number of different cellular pathways and are elicited not only by antigens and allogeneic cells but also by other stimuli such as immune complexes and the lipid A moiety of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The latter response has been implicated in the pathogenesis of the disseminated intravascular coagulation associated with bacterial infection. In the rapid collaborative cellular pathway response to LPS, we have described a relatively rigorous requirement for T helper cells in induction of the biosynthesis of tissue factor and Factor VII by monocytes. To elucidate potential regulatory aspects of this cellular procoagulant response, we provide the first evidence for the existence of T suppressor cells for the cellular procoagulant response to LPS by the rapid T cell-instructed pathway. Human peripheral blood lymphocytes were separated by cytoaffinity into Fc gamma-positive and Fc mu-positive cells and were characterized for their functional properties in the procoagulant response. T mu cells mediated the monocyte response, consistent with their identity with instructor cells. T gamma cells suppressed the response of monocytes to LPS in the presence of T mu cells, suggesting that they possess suppressor function for this response. The T gamma suppressor cells required stimulation by LPS to express their suppressor function and they exerted their suppressive effect directly on the monocyte. The existence and participation of LPS-responsive T suppressor cells on the cellular procoagulant response in vitro add a new dimension to the complexity of the rapid pathway of the collaborative cellular procoagulant response and may be important in the pathogenesis of disseminated intravascular coagulation.