Enhanced local immune response in children with prolonged gastrointestinal symptoms.
OBJECTIVE
Recently, we reported typical endoscopic findings and an increment in gammadelta+ T cells in the foregut among children with food-sensitive enteropathy other than coeliac disease. To find out the extend to which the upregulation of the local immune response might explain gastrointestinal (GI) complaints of the foregut, we sought to examine by the increment in gammadelta+ T cells a I-y consecutive series of children referred for recurrent GI complaints to a tertiary-level hospital.


METHODS
A 1-y cohort of 102 children scheduled for gastroduodenoscopy were examined for mucosal histology and the densities of CD3+, alphabeta+ and alphabeta+ T-cell subsets from mid-duodenal specimens. The final diagnostic categories were used in analysing the data.


RESULTS
Fifteen subjects showed villous atrophy and a high gammadelta+ T-cell density; the finding being compatible with coeliac disease (CD). At the other extreme, 20 subjects in whom diagnostic GI diseases were ruled out showed low densities and served as controls. The subjects reporting GI symptoms after an open food challenge with milk and/or cereals (n = 18) as well as children remitting with a milk- or cereal-eliminating diet but not responding to a challenge (n = 23) also expressed significantly higher densities of gammadelta+ T cells than the controls. In all, 45 of 102 children could be considered to have an elevated gamma6+ T-cell density as an indication of locally activated immune response. Lack of villous architecture and lymphonodular hyperplasia of the duodenal bulb as an endoscopic finding and atopic dermatitis but not the presence of DQ2 alleles showed a close association with these increased densities.


CONCLUSIONS
Considering that an elevated incidence of gammadelta+ T cells is an indication of mucosal response against luminal antigens, up to half the children with prolonged GI symptoms have immune mediated disorder; CD and food allergy being the most obvious clinical entities.
Kokkonen
J
J
Department of Paediatrics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. jorma.kokkonen@ppshp.fi
Holm
K
K
Karttunen
T J
TJ
Mäki
M
M
D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D004384:Duodenoscopy / Q000379:methods; D004386:Duodenum / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005773:Gastroscopy / Q000379:methods; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
D017252:CD3 Complex; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta