LYMPHOCYTES-T LYMPHOCYTES-B IN MYASTHENIA-GRAVIS

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 37  (3) , 452-456
Abstract
Peripheral blood lymphocytes from 17 non-thymectomized and 9 thymectomized patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and 13 healthy controls were examined for the presence of surface markers characteristic of T [thymus-derived] and B [bone marrow-derived] lymphocytes by rosette formation with sheep red blood cells (SRBC). T cells were identified by their capacity to spontaneously form rosettes with SRBC. The percentage of B lymphocytes was determined by the erythrocyte-antibody-complement (EAC) rosette-forming test. The EAC complex was prepared with whole rabbit anti-SRBC serum or with the Ig[immunoglobulin]M fraction of rabbit anti-SRBC serum. The 2 kinds of EAC rosette-forming cells (EAC-RFC) are deisgnated E-hemolysin-C RFC (EA(H)C-RFC) and E-IgM-C RFC (EA(M)C-RFC). The percentage of total lymphocytes and T cells was not altered in MG patients. The percentage of active T cells, which may be more actively involved in cellular immunity, was similar in MG patients and controls. A significant increase in EA(H)C-RFC occurred in thymectomized and non-thymectomized MG patients while in B cells detected by EA(M)C-RFC no alterations were found. The increase in EA(H)C-RFC in lymphocytes from MG patients may be due to an increase in the 19S antibody-forming B lymphocytes or to an increase in T cells which have Fc receptors on their surface.