title: Lack of correlation between in vitro immunological alterations and the development of scleroderma-like skin lesions in toxic oil syndrome patients.
abstract: We examined whether immunological disturbances could influence the development of scleroderma-like skin lesions in patients affected by the Spanish toxic oil syndrome (TOS). To this end, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were collected from 13 chronic patients and 8 control subjects. All patients had suffered a toxic-induced severe neuromyopathy, and 6, in addition, had developed sclerodermoid skin manifestations. The phenotypic profile and the concentrations of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and of molecules with B cell differentiation factor IgG activity (BCDF-IgG) in supernatants of phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocytes were analyzed both in patients and in normal controls. Molecules with BCDF-IgG activity were found increased in supernatants of mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes from TOS patients. Concentrations of IgG secreted by staphylococcus aureus-SAC-B blasts in the presence of TOS PBMC supernatant was 88 +/- 32.62 ng/ml (mean +/- 1 SD) versus 53 +/- 5.34 ng/ml in the presence of control supernatant (p less than 0.01). Levels of BCDF-IgG activity in TOS PBMC supernatants positively correlated with IgG serum levels (r = 0.69, p less than 0.01). The phenotypic profile of lymphocyte populations and the production of IL-2 were not altered in TOS subjects. No statistically significant differences were observed in the lymphocyte distribution nor in the IL-2 and BCDF-IgG production when comparing patients with or without scleroderma-like skin lesions. The results indicate that there was a dysfunction of the immune response in TOS subjects, which, however, was not sufficient for the development of the sclerodermoid lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Hospital General Gregorio Marañón, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Aparicio
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cabrero
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D001937:Brassica / Q000506:poisoning*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000097:blood; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D011041:Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D012594:Scleroderma, Localized / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007376:Interleukin-2