T-cell subsets in acute psychotic schizophrenic patients.
Two-color flow cytometric analysis was performed on peripheral blood lymphocytes of 16 untreated schizophrenic patients during an acute psychotic attack and 16 healthy control subjects to evaluate differences in T-cell subpopulations. In schizophrenic patients, we observed decrease in CD4+ 2H4+ (suppressor-inducer) and CD8+ 2H4+ (suppressor-effector) T-cell subsets. The selective loss of 2H4+ cell markers both on helper and suppressor T cells was not correlated to the severity of the acute psychosis. Our results may indicate a mechanism of an immune disequilibrium in schizophrenic patients during an acute psychotic attack.
Achiron
A
A
Department of Neurology, Beilinson Medical Center, Petah-Tiqva, Israel.
Noy
S
S
Pras
E
E
Lereya
J
J
Hermesh
H
H
Laor
N
N
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000276:immunology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*