Lymphocyte subsets in muscle biopsies of human T-lymphotropic virus type I carriers with polymyositis.
Recent epidemiologic studies have shown that human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is associated with polymyositis. To clarify the histological features of HTLV-I positive polymyositis, we studied muscle tissue from two groups of patients with polymyositis, those seropositive for HTLV-I (5 patients) and those seronegative (5 patients). We examined the lymphocyte subsets in muscle biopsies using monoclonal antibodies. In the endomysium, a variable number of T-lymphocytes and macrophages and a smaller proportion of B-lymphocytes were found in both groups. In both HTLV-I positive and negative patients a variable number of T-lymphocytes and macrophages, with a smaller number of B-lymphocytes, were found in the perimysium. As a whole, the T-lymphocytes were predominantly of the helper/inducer phenotype in both groups. We failed to find any specific phenotype distribution among T-cells infiltrating the muscle of HTLV-I carriers with polymyositis.
Ijichi
T
T
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Japan.
Higuchi
I
I
Fukunaga
H
H
Izumo
S
S
Osame
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000032:analysis; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D008264:Macrophages; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000276:immunology*; D017285:Polymyositis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*
D015703:Antigens, CD; D000956:Antigens, Viral