[The functional state of thymus cells under prolonged combined action of phenobarbital and E. coli lipopolysaccharide].

The effect of separate and combined 10-day treatment with phenobarbital (PB) in a single daily dose of 35 mg/kg and E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in a dose of 25 microg/kg was studied in white rats. The results were evaluated by the rate of DNA synthesis in the culture of T mitogen stimulated thymocytes, the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDG) in the thymus, and the activity of acetylcholine esterase (ACE) and the content of catecholamines (CA) in the nerve fibers of this organ. It was established that the 10-day treatment with PB inhibits the proliferative activity in concanavalin A stimulated lymphocytes of rat thymus, decreases the ACE activity, and increases the CA content in the nerve fibers. The repeated injections of E. coli LPS on the background of PB led to more pronounced negative changes in the functional activity of lymphoid cells in the thymus, manifested by a decrease in the G-6-PDG activity and the rate of DNA synthesis in the thymus and by an increase in the level of biogenic amines in the nervous fibers of this organ.