INHIBITION OF INTERFERON GAMMA PRODUCTION BY PERIPHERAL-BLOOD MONONUCLEAR LEUKOCYTES OF PATIENTS WITH SARCOIDOSIS - PATHOGENIC IMPLICATIONS

Interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production by stimulated peripheral mononuclear leukocytes of 30 patients with sarcoidosis was studied. A significant inhibition (64 percent, 5 to 330 IU/ml vs normal individuals = 1,000 +/- 250 IU/ml) in the IFN-gamma-synthesis was found. The inhibition is due to a defect in the circulating monocytes and not in the peripheral T lymphocytes of these patients. This defect in the peripheral IFN-gamma-production could be involved in the pathogenesis of this disease.