title: Increased interleukin-2 production in response to human type I collagen stimulation in patients with systemic sclerosis.
abstract: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) produced increased amounts of interleukin-2 (IL-2), in a dose-dependent manner, in response to stimulation with human type I collagen, whereas PBMC from normal subjects did not. At a dose of 50 micrograms human type I collagen/10(6) PBMC, PBMC from SSc patients (n = 17) produced 8 times as much IL-2 as did PBMC from 16 normal subjects (P less than 0.005) and 3 times as much as did PBMC from a group of 13 rheumatoid arthritis patients (P less than 0.05). In contrast, IL-2 production by PBMC after nonspecific stimulation with the mitogen, phytohemagglutinin, did not differ among the SSc, rheumatoid arthritis, and normal control groups. Cell depletion experiments indicated that the IL-2-producing cells in SSc patients are CD4+. Thus, SSc patients have CD4 cells that are specifically sensitized to human type I collagen and can produce increased levels of IL-2. Measurement of IL-2 production stimulated by human type I collagen may be useful in evaluating disease activity, and further investigation of this process may contribute to the delineation of the pathogenesis of SSc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy and Immunology, Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hawrylko
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spertus
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Mele
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oster
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frieri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000378:metabolism; D003094:Collagen / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007376:Interleukin-2; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D003094:Collagen