In Vitro Effect of Sulfasalazine and Its Metabolites on Human T Lymphocyte Activation

Sulfasalazine (SF) is an anti-inflammatory sulfonamide used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and ankylosing spondylitis. Its mechanism of action is not fully understood. The possible immunomodulatory role of sufasalazine and its main metabolites, sulfapyridine (SP) and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) on T cell activation was analyzed. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were separated from human blood by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation, depleted of monocytes by plastic adherence and further separated into B and T lymphocytes by the E-rosette method using sheep red blood cells (SRBC).