title: Transient immunoregulatory perturbation during the acute phase of rheumatic fever.
abstract: An abnormal immune response directed at streptococcal antigen is currently thought to be involved in the development of autoimmune phenomena in rheumatic fever (RF). We studied T-cell subsets using the OKT monoclonal antibodies in 13 patients with newly-diagnosed RF. No difference was found in the total number of T cells or in the proportion of helper T cells (OKT4+) at the acute phase (56.6 +/- 6.9) as compared to the recovery phase (55.2 +/- 9.2). However, a significantly decreased proportion of suppressor T cells (OKT8+) was observed during the acute phase (17.2 +/- 6) as compared to the recovery phase (26.4 +/- 5.3) (p less than 0.001). The T4/T8 ratio was significantly higher during the initial phase (3.65 +/- 1.04) and returned to normal later (2.12 +/- 0.39) (p less than 0.002). The results of our study indicate that in the acute phase of RF many patients had low levels of suppressor T cells which return to normal after recovery. Thus, reduced proportion of suppressor T cells might be an indicator for the active phase of RF. Decreased suppressor cell activity may also be involved in the development of autoimmune phenomena in RF.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002648:Child; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D012213:Rheumatic Fever / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal