Protective effect of tripeptide in the presence of cyclophosphamide on the growth of cultured lymphoid tissue from rats of different age.

We studied the effect of tripeptide T-38 (Lys-Glu-Asp) in the presence of cyclophosphamide on cell proliferation and apoptosis in explants of splenic lymphoid tissue from young and old rats. Peptide T-38 in a concentration of 0.05 ng/ml produced a stimulatory effect on the growth zone of the explants. Addition of 1 mg/ml cyclophosphamide to the culture medium suppressed cell proliferation, which was associated with enhanced expression of proapoptotic p53 protein. Under conditions of combined treatment with cyclophosphamide and T-38 no inhibiting effect of the cytostatics was observed. Thus, tripeptide T-38 in the presence of cytostatics produces a protective effect on cell proliferation in lymphoid tissue explants.