title: Immunoglobulin synthesis in myelodysplastic syndromes: normal B-cell and immunoregulatory T-cell functions.
abstract: Peripheral blood cells from patients with myelodysplastic syndromes were assayed for B-cell and immunoregulatory T-cell functions. The B/T cell ratio in myelodysplastic patients (n = 11) was significantly higher than in controls (n = 12). These patients had a reduction in total T-cell (OKT3+) frequency and in T-cell subset (OKT4+/OKT8+) ratios. The response of patients' cells to both pokeweed mitogen (PWM) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was reduced, but patients' B cells responded normally to stimulation with Staphylococcus aureus Cowan (SAC). The levels of IgG and IgM detected in 7-day culture supernatants of PWM-stimulated patient and control cells were similar. Normal B-cell and immunoregulatory T-cell functions were subsequently demonstrated in allogeneic co-culture combinations of enriched T and B cells from patients and controls. The data presented indicate that the frequent infections of myelodysplastic patients are not causally related to impaired humoral mechanisms. The data also favor the possibility that the stem cell disorder in these syndromes is functionally expressed at a subsequent stage to the lymphoid differentiation pathway.
mesh_terms: D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007239:Infections / Q000209:etiology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008934:Mitogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007136:Immunoglobulins; D008934:Mitogens