Decreased natural killer cell function in patients with classical Kaposi's sarcoma.
Natural killer (NK) cell activity of peripheral blood lymphocytes was evaluated in a group of 13 patients with classical Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). All patients had a normal T4/T8 ratio, and the disease was confined to the skin of the lower extremities. A group of 5 healthy subjects served as controls. NK cell function was significantly decreased in patients as compared to controls. Our result is similar to that found in another group of patients with AIDS-related KS with lymphadenopathy and an abnormal T4/T8 ratio. This suggests that decreased NK cell function is not a result of a progressive process and might be directly involved in the development of KS.
Weltfriend
S
S
Department of Dermatology, Rambam Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.
Friedman-Birnbaum
R
R
Pollack
S
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets