title: Tc1/Tc2 and Th1/Th2 balance in Asian and Western types of multiple sclerosis, HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis and hyperIgEaemic myelitis.
abstract: CD8+ T cells, like CD4+ T cells, can differentiate into at least two subsets with distinct cytokine patterns: Tc1 cells produce Th1-like cytokines and Tc2 cells produce Th2-like cytokines. To clarify the immunopathological roles of Tc1 and Tc2 cells in central nervous system (CNS) inflammation, we examined intracellular cytokines in CD8+ and CD4+ T cells by flow cytometry and analyzed the Tc1/Tc2 balance as well as the Th1/Th2 balance in 80 patients with various CNS inflammatory diseases, including 20 with optico-spinal multiple sclerosis (OS-MS), 21 with conventional MS (C-MS), 22 with human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and 17 with hyperIgEaemic myelitis. Twenty-two healthy subjects were also examined as controls. Patients with OS-MS showed a significantly higher percentage of INF-gamma+IL-4- CD8+ T cells as well as CD4+ T cells and a significantly higher intracellular interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)/interleukin-4 (IL-4) ratio both in CD8+ and CD4+ T cells throughout the relapse and remission phases than the healthy controls. Furthermore, the patients with OS-MS showed a significantly lower percentage of INF-gamma-IL-4+ CD4+ T cells as well as CD8+ T cells during the relapse phase than the healthy controls. On the other hand, the patients with C-MS showed a significantly higher percentage of IFN-gamma-IL-4+ CD8+ T cells in addition to more IFN-gamma+IL-4- CD4+ T cells during the relapse phase than the healthy controls. The HAM/TSP patients showed a significantly higher percentage of INF-gamma+IL-4- CD8+ T cells and a significantly higher intracellular IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio in CD8+ T cells than the healthy controls. In contrast, in hyperIgEaemic myelitis, in addition to a significantly lower intracellular IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio in CD4+ T cells, a tendency toward a lower intracellular IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio in CD8+ T cells in comparison to the healthy controls was observed. These results clarified for the first time the distinct Tc1/Tc2 balance in each disease condition as follows: Tc1 cell response is predominant in OS-MS and HAM/TSP, while Tc2 cell response is predominant in hyperIgEaemic myelitis and at relapse phase of C-MS. Furthermore, our results suggest that CD8+ T cells play an adjunctive role in disease induction and the clinical course of MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 812-8582, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ochi
authors.forename: X M
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osoegawa
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minohara
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murai
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohyagi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Furuya
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology*; D009187:Myelitis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology*; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E