Spontaneous apoptosis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of leprosy patients: role of cytokines.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from leprosy patients underwent spontaneous apoptosis upon culture for 24 h. The apoptosis was inhibited by anti-TNFalpha antibodies and to a certain extent by anti-IL-1alpha and IL-6, thus showing that T(H)2-type cytokines (mainly TNFalpha) are responsible for inducing apoptosis. This cytokine-mediated apoptosis could be inhibited by ionomycin and zinc, thereby suggesting that these metal ions can be used to decrease the levels of these inflammatory cytokines in various diseases.