T cells bearing gamma/delta T cell receptor and their expression of activation antigen in peripheral blood from patients with Sjögren's syndrome.
T cells bearing gamma/delta T cell receptor (gamma/delta + T cells) and their expression of activation antigen (HLA-DR) or the marker of natural killer (NK) cells (CD56), were examined in the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from twenty-two patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) by three-color flowcytometry to elucidate possible pathological roles of the T cell subset in SS. The frequency of gamma/delta + T cells in PBL was not elevated in SS patients, while that of gamma/delta - T cells, which are T cells bearing the alpha/beta T cell receptor (alpha/beta + T cells), was significantly low in the patients, as compared with 22 healthy controls. We found that the proportions of activated cells (HLA-DR+) in both the gamma/delta + and alpha/beta+T cell subsets were significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. The proportions of HLA-DR+ cells in cells in both patients and controls. Furthermore, the frequency of activated cells in both T cell subsets correlated with the duration of disease in SS patients. However, no difference was found in the percentages of total CD56+ cells, CD56+CD3- cells (true NK cells), CD56+CD3+T cells, CD56+gamma/delta+T cells, or CD56-gamma/delta+T cells between the patients and controls. The above results indicate that immunologic activation in SS patients is progressive and involves both alpha/beta+ and gamma/delta+ T cell subsets.
Ichikawa
Y
Y
Department of Internal Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Shimizu
H
H
Yoshida
M
M
Takaya
M
M
Arimori
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000032:analysis; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000032:analysis; D019002:CD56 Antigen; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure*
D015703:Antigens, CD; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D019002:CD56 Antigen; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta