Immune regulation in inflammatory bowel disease: absence of a serum inhibitor of suppressor cell function.

Suppressor cell function of normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells was unaltered by preincubation with sera from patients with severe inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These results suggest that, in contrast to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, the decreased suppressor cell activity in IBD is not mediated by anti-suppressor cell antibodies.