Preferential V beta3 usage by hepatic T lymphocytes in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.
OBJECTIVE
Primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis are two biliary destructive disorders characterized by prominent T lymphocyte infiltrates in areas of portal destruction. The specificity of the T cell is determined by the T cell receptor for antigens. The aim of this study was to investigate the preference by which certain V alpha and V beta gene segments are expressed by peripheral and hepatic T cells in primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis.


METHODS
The usage of the alpha/beta T cell receptor (TcR) V gene of liver infiltrating lymphocytes and peripheral blood lymphocytes from 12 primary sclerosing cholangitis patients, 10 primary biliary cirrhosis patients and healthy controls was investigated, using alpha/beta TcR V gene product-specific monoclonal antibodies. HLA class II antigen typing with genomic typing technique was done in 11/12 primary sclerosing cholangitis patients.


RESULTS
A significant difference between the studied groups of patients was an increase in the expression of V beta3+ T cells in liver tissue from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis compared to patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and healthy controls (p<0.01). No significant differences were found in the peripheral blood between the three groups. Furthermore, no relation between the different TcR V alpha/beta cells and histological staging and class II antigen association was observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Predominant TcR V beta3 gene usage in liver tissue in primary sclerosing cholangitis may indicate the presence of a specific antigen in this tissue with the capacity of selectively driving T cells, utilizing the V beta3 gene segment product, in primary sclerosing cholangitis patients.
Broomé
U
U
Department of Medicine, Huddinge Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Grunewald
J
J
Scheynius
A
A
Olerup
O
O
Hultcrantz
R
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015209:Cholangitis, Sclerosing / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000235:genetics; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta