Leprosy. XII. T-cell subsets in lepromatous leprosy.
The authors quantitated T-rosette-forming cell (TRFC) and T-cell subsets (T mu, T gamma) in the peripheral blood of twenty patients with lepromatous leprosy. The results obtained in their studies are as follows: (1) They reconfirmed the low levels of TRFC in patients with lepromatous type of leprosy; (2) T-cell subsets, both T mu (helper) and T gamma (suppressor) cells, showed lower levels in all patients with lepromatous leprosy than mean values of normal healthy controls; (3) The degree of decreased levels of T mu cells (96%) was more severe than other parameters TRFC (70%) and T gamma cells (47%) in all patients with lepromatous leprosy; and (4) It may be concluded that the alteration of the T-cell subset, T mu-cells, reflects a more fundamental abnormality than TRFC aberration in demonstrating the impairment of cell-mediated immunity in patients with lepromatous leprosy.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007918:Leprosy / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012397:Rosette Formation; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*