title: Non-restricted T cell receptor (TCR)-V alpha and -V beta gene usage in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.
abstract: Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology characterized by the pronounced accumulation of CD4+ T cells and macrophages in the affected organs. TCR variable (V) alpha and V beta gene usage in patients with sarcoidosis is still a matter of discussion. In this investigation, we analysed TCR-V alpha and -V beta gene usage in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 30 patients with active pulmonary sarcoidosis using an adapter ligation method, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe (SSOP) analyses. There was no significant difference in TCR-V alpha or -V beta gene usage between BALF (n = 12) or PBMC (n = 27) of patients and PBMC of healthy subjects (n = 10). Neither selective TCR-V alpha nor -V beta expansion was observed in the paired BALF and PBMC from seven of nine patients. However, selective expansions were observed in a few TCR-V alpha or -V beta subsets in the BALF or PBMC of some individuals. Although a modest increase in a few TCR-V alpha or -V beta subsets was observed in the BALF or PBMC of some individuals, the increased TCR-V alpha or -V beta subsets were not closely associated with the HLA-DRB1, DQA1, DQB1, and DPB1 alleles of these patients. These results suggest that TCR-V alpha or -V beta gene usage is not restricted in both lung and peripheral blood in the majority of patients with active pulmonary sarcoidosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Asahi-machi, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoshino
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsutani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gouhara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mochizuki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oizumi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005802:Genes, MHC Class II; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics*; D017565:Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta