A novel method for the determination of T-cell proliferative responses in patients with uveitis.
Standard proliferation assays using autoantigens such as S-Ag have given erratic responses when studied with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This erratic response is a reflection of the low number of circulating cells in the peripheral blood capable of generating a response as well as the presence of competing cells for the available cytokines in culture. The present study compares the standard proliferation assay with a novel technique in which multiple short-term cell lines are established to S-Ag in medium enriched in helper cytokines. After 12-14 days of culture, these lines were tested for their response to S-Ag. A significant difference was found between patients and controls in the ability to generate responsive cell lines. This translated to a frequency of responsive cells of 0-4 per 10(7) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in normal individuals and 0-200 per 10(7) PBMC in patients. This novel technique may provide a means of determining the number of responsive cells to specific autoantigens in the peripheral blood of patients and the ability to follow the response over time.
de Smet
M D
MD
Clinical Immunology Section, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA. m.d.desmet@amc.uva.nl
Dayan
M
M
Nussenblatt
R B
RB
D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D019393:Arrestin / Q000276:immunology; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D015866:Uveitis, Posterior / Q000276:immunology*
D019393:Arrestin; D001324:Autoantigens