ASCORBIC ACID MODULATES SPONTANEOUS THYMOCYTE APOPTOSIS

The aim of the paper was to analyze the effect of various concentrations of ascorbic acid on spontaneous apoptosis of lymphocytes.About 58% of all thymocytes are subjected to a spontaneous apoptosis, after 24-hour cultivation in the complete medium. The number of apoptotic thymocytes was much lower in the culture with different concentrations of ascorbic acid. The most dramatic effect was detected in the culture with the highest concentration of ascorbic acid (10000 μg/ml). In this culture, the number of apoptotic thymocytes was about 32%. These results, compared with the results of spontaneous apoptosis, show that the most significant inhibition of apoptosis was detected in the culture with 10000 μg/ml of ascorbic acid. High concentration of ascorbic acid can inhibit spontaneous apoptosis of thymocytes. Such inhibition of T cell apoptosis, as the effector cells in immune system, can represent one of the major factors by which ascorbic acid influence the immune system.