Rosette inhibition test in chronic liver disease.
A role has recently been assigned to cell-mediated immunity in chronic liver diseases in addition to the well-known alterations of humoral immunity. We now report the results of the rosette inhibition test for the evaluation of T-lymphocyte "sensitization" in patients with different chronic liver disorders. A cell-mediated immune reaction was found in 81% of patients with chronic active hepatitis and in 71% with primary biliary cirrhosis, whereas patients with chronic persistent hepatitis showed no reaction. The correlation with the incidence of hepatitis B antigen showed that T-lymphocyte sensitization was more frequent in the group of HB-positive patients. Finally, improvement of the test was observed in four out of nine patients given immunosuppressive treatment.
D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007104:Immune Adherence Reaction; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000276:immunology; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000276:immunology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*