title: Humoral immunity and lymphocyte subpopulations in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.
abstract: The incidence of serum organ and non-organ specific autoantibodies, the peripheral blood lymphocyte blastogenic response to phytohaemagglutinin, concanavalin A and pokeweek mitogen, and the surface markers of peripheral T and B lymphocytes were studied in 15 patients affected by coronary artery disease and in 21 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. In the latter group there was a significantly impaired blastogenic response to concanavalin A with respect to both the normal control group and patients with coronary artery disease (P less than 0.01). The percentage of peripheral blood lymphocytes with cytotoxic/suppressor activity was also reduced in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy in comparison to normal subjects and patients with coronary artery disease (P less than 0.01 and P less than 0.05, respectively). These data may reflect an in vivo defect in suppressor cell function in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000032:analysis; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000276:immunology*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001323:Autoantibodies