title: T cell-T cell activation in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Activated T cells are able to stimulate proliferation in resting T cells through an antigen non-specific mechanism. The in vivo usefulness of this T cell-T cell activation is unclear, but it may serve to amplify immune responses. T cell-T cell activation could be involved in the well-documented occurrence of multiple sclerosis (MS) exacerbations following viral infections. Excessive activation via this pathway could also be a factor in the etiology of MS. We tested the hypothesis that excessive T cell-T cell activation occurs in MS patients using in vitro proliferation assays comparing T cells from MS patients to T cells from controls. When tested as responder cells, T cells from MS patients proliferated slightly less after stimulation with previously activated cells than T cells from controls. When tested as stimulator cells, activated cells from MS patients stimulated slightly more non-specific proliferation than activated cells from controls. Neither of these differences were statistically significant. We conclude that T cell proliferation in response to activated T cells is similar in MS and controls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Texas-Houston Medical School 77030, USA.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lindsey
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Kerman
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Wolinsky
mesh_terms: D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000097:blood; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D015759:Ionomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012008:Recurrence; D012016:Reference Values; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D017252:CD3 Complex; D015759:Ionomycin; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate