title: In vitro lymphocyte reactivity to gold compounds in the diagnosis of contact hypersensitivity.
abstract: The use of the lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) in the diagnosis of contact hypersensitivity to gold was studied in 8 patients who had positive patch tests to gold salts, and in 8 control subjects who were negative to such patch tests. Gold sodium thiosulfate and gold chloride were added to cultures of lymphocytes, which were labeled by 3H-thymidine after 96 h. The lymphocyte stimulation index was calculated as the beta-counts in stimulated cultures divided by those in control cultures. The index was statistically significantly higher for the patient group (p=0.005-0.04) than for the control group. Levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) were determined for the supernatants of the lymphocyte cultures. An index IFN-gamma, which is defined as the level of IFN-gamma in stimulated cultures divided by that in control cultures, was statistically significantly higher for the patient group (p=0.01-0.006). The LTT stimulation index showed specificity and sensitivity between 67 and 80%, the respective values for Index IFN-gamma being between 73 and 100% when the patch test was used as a reference method. Evaluation of lymphocyte reactivity might be of future interest in the diagnosis of allergic reactions to gold if the sensitivity and specificity can be improved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Odontology - Dental Biomaterials, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Vamnes
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Gjerdet
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morken
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moe
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matre
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology; D003877:Dermatitis, Contact / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D017612:Gold Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology*; D012971:Gold Sodium Thiosulfate / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010328:Patch Tests; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D017612:Gold Compounds; C038016:gold chloride; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D012971:Gold Sodium Thiosulfate