Direct Evidence for Loss of Human Suppressor Cells during Active Autoimmune Disease

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 75; no. 10; pp. 5150 - 5154
• Main Authors: Strelkauskas, Anthony J., Callery, Richard T., McDowell, Joan, Borel, Yves, Schlossman, Stuart F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 01.10.1978; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Antibodies; Arthritis, Juvenile - immunology; Autoantibodies; Autoimmune diseases; B lymphocytes; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Child; Child, Preschool; Disease remission; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulins; Immunosuppression; Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; Lymphocytes; Male; Mice; T lymphocytes; T-Lymphocytes - immunology
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.75.10.5150

These studies indicate that a regulatory subset of lymphocytes is missing in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis but these patients have antibodies in their serum that react with normal T cells. This regulatory subset of T cells is, however, present in patients whose serum shows little or no reactivity with normal T cells. In addition, patients who are deficient in this regulatory subset of lymphocytes have significantly higher numbers of cells secreting Ig as measured by a hemolytic plaque assay. The significance of these observations is twofold: first, they represent a positive relationship among the loss of regulation, overproduction of immunoglobulin, and the presence of anti-T cell antibodies; and second, and perhaps of equal importance, is the indication that serum from patients with autoimmune diseases may give us a readily available reagent with which to dissect further functionally distinct subsets of normal T cells in man.