In autoimmune diseases, mitogen-induced IL-2 production in vitro is generally considered to be diminished despite evidence of lymphoid hyperactivity in vivo. HgCl2 is known to cause T-dependent polyclonal B cell activation in Brown-Norway (BN) rats, resulting in autoimmune disease. We show here that the IL-2 producing capacity of cells from HgCl2-treated BN rats is low, but that HgCl2 treatment in vitro (10(-7) M) enhances IL-2 production of normal BN splenocytes. Lewis (LEW) rats are resistant to HgCl2-induced autoimmune disease. HgCl2 treatment of these rats in vivo does not significantly decrease the IL-2 production of their splenocytes. However, HgCl2 treatment of normal LEW splenocytes in vitro enhances their IL-2 production but this requires an HgCl2 concentration ten times greater (10(-6) M) in LEW than in BN rats. These findings are discussed in an attempt to resolve the paradox between the in vivo immune hyperactivity seen in HgCl2-treated BN rats, and the apparently low IL-2 production of their splenocytes in vitro.