ESTIMATION OF T‐ AND K‐CELL ACTIVITY IN THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD OF SARCOIDOSIS PATIENTS

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Abstract
Depressed ADCC activity was found in sarcoidosis patients in clinical Stage II when whole blood was used as the effector cell pool. Whole blood in Stage I patients as well as purified peripheral lymphocytes of sarcoidosis patients did not reveal a diminished cytotoxic activity. Stimulation experiments with PHA, Con A, and PPD in two different concentrations resulted in a normal PHA response, a significantly decreased Con A response (regardless of the clinical stage of the patients), and a significantly decreased PPD responsiveness of peripheral lymphocytes in Stage II patients, respectively. Regarding the distribution of peripheral B and T lymphocytes, only a significantly depressed T-cell number in Stage I sarcoidosis patients was observed. Peripheral cells forming EA and EAC rosettes and staining for membrane-bound immunoglobulins were within normal ranges. Serum antibody titers to different herpes viruses, including Epstein-Barr virus, were found not to be elevated. Twenty percent of sarcoidosis patients showed anti-immunoglobulins in their sera specific for the Fc and Fab fragment.