IMMUNOREGULATORY T-CELL SUB-POPULATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH SCLERODERMA USING MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 48  (2) , 443-488
Abstract
Patients (28) with scleroderma were compared with healthy (22) age-matched subjects. Monoclonal antibodies were used to detect the whole T cell population (OKT3), T helper cells (OKT4) and T suppressor/cytotoxic cells (OKT8) by indirect immunofluorescence on isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. A subset of scleroderma patients (i.e., 30% or 8 of 28 patients) exhibited an elevated ratio of OKT4/OKT8 cells which could be accounted for, mainly by a reduction in OKT8 cells compared with controls. The scleroderma patients with an elevated OKT4/OKT8 ratio tended to be younger, have a shorter disease duration and more extensive skin involvement than patients with a normal OKT4/OKT8 ratio. There was no correlation with the presence of autoantibodies, drug therapy or HLA-DR type. In order to further determine whether this imbalance in immunoregulatory cell subpopulations was specific for scleroderma, 16 patients with psoriatic arthritis but without manifest autoimmunity were studied and a similar subset of patients with an elevated OKT4/OKT8 cell ratio (i.e., 38% or 6 of 16 patients) were delineated. The results demonstrate similar immunoregulatory T cell imbalances in patients with scleroderma and psoriatic arthritis. Numerical imbalances in lymphocyte subpopulations apparently may not be specific for autoimmune disorders.