title: Multiple myeloma: altered CD4/CD8 ratio in bone marrow.
abstract: The expression of CD3, CD4 and CD8 antigens was simultaneously evaluated in peripheral blood and bone marrow lymphocytes from 22 multiple myeloma (MM) patients. The coexpression of CD11b and HLA-DR antigens was also analyzed within the CD4+ and CD8+ subpopulations in 4 MM patients. In peripheral blood the percentage of CD3+ and CD8+ cells was in the normal range, and the percentage of CD4+ was slightly reduced, leading to an altered CD4/CD8 ratio (less than 1) in only 7 patients. On the contrary, in bone marrow the percentage of CD4+ was profoundly reduced, leading to an altered CD4/CD8 ratio in all MM patients. As we previously reported in peripheral blood, an expansion of the CD11b+ and HLA-DR+ lymphocytes was observed within the CD4+ and CD8+ bone marrow T-cell subpopulations. A T-lymphocyte subset imbalance is more evident in bone marrow than in peripheral blood, and it is not due to a different lymphocyte distribution within the hematological compartments.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina ed Oncologia Sperimentale, Ospedale Maggiore S. Giovanni Battista, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Redoglia
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boccadoro
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Battaglio
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Dianzani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Massaia
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pileri
mesh_terms: D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism*; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000378:metabolism*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000276:immunology*; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D006801:Humans; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens