Haemochromatosis as a window into the study of the immunological system: a novel correlation between CD8+ lymphocytes and iron overload.
In the present study we report a serial investigation of the numbers of the peripheral blood cells--erythrocytes, polymorphonuclear neutrophils, total lymphocytes, T-lymphocyte subpopulations (CD2, CD4, CD8), B lymphocytes and monocytes--in a group of 21 patients with haemochromatosis during the time of intensive phlebotomy treatment, i.e., from iron overload until the onset of iron deficiency. A remarkable individual stability of all blood cell populations studied was found in all patients. Patients differed in their relative proportions of CD4+ and CD8+. Each individual's CD4/CD8 ratio, as well as the absolute numbers, remained unaffected with time, confirming the existence of a strict homeostatic regulation of the relative numbers of the two major peripheral T lymphocytes. A significant positive correlation between CD4/CD8 ratios and the amount of iron mobilised by phlebotomy was found during this study. A novel correlation between the relative proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ cells and iron overload is confirmed by the follow-up of iron re-entry in the serum transferrin pool in the treated patients.
Abel Salazar Institute for the Biomedical Sciences, Santo Antonio General Hospital, Porto, Portugal.
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G
Porto
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R
Reimão
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Gonçalves
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C
Vicente
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B
Justiça
M
M
de Sousa
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001815:Bloodletting; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D005260:Female; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014168:Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism
D014168:Transferrin