Relationship of the occurrence and development of rheumatism arthritis with T lymphocyte subsets and CD4+ TH1/TH2 cell functional subsets

Liqun MAO; Ling FENG; Yanhua YAN

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Rheumatoid arthritis(RA) is an autoallergic disease,but its immunological pathogenesis has not been completely known. T lymphocytes, especially CD4+ TH1/TH2 cells, may have an important effect in the occurrence and development of RA.

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate the action of CD4+ TH1 and TH2 cells which separately mediate cellular immunity and humoral immunologic response (respectively) function in the occurrence and development of RA.

DESIGN:

Case-control, comparative observation.

SETTING:

Department of Immunology, Medical College of Chinese People's Armed Police Forces.

PARTICIPANTS:

Totally 15 patients with RA hospitalized in the Department of Internal Medicine of General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University between March 1999 and March 2000 were selected for a RA patient group, consisting of 2 males and 13 females. Of them, 12 patients whose serumal rheumatoid factor (RF)was positive and the three others' was negative. At the same time, 30 healthy individuals from persons receiving health examination in the hospital or from our department were selected for a healthy control group, consisting of 4 males and 26 females. Informed consents were obtained from the participants.peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC) from the two groups of subjects were detected by enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT). 200-500 lymphocytes were counted under a normal light microscope, and the perwhich secreted cytokines were detected by ELISPOT, and those which had red spots in their plasma after staining were positive cells. Among them,the cells secreting γ-interferon (IFN-γ) were Tm cells while those secreting interleukin-4 (IL-4) were TH2 cells. 200-500 lymphocytes were counted under a normal light microscope and the percentages of TH1 and TH2 cells square test were used for comparing statistical differences of data between the two groups.MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

Quantitative analysis of T lymphocyte subsets (including CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells) and CD4+ TH1/TH2 cells in peripheral blood from the two groups of subjects.

RESULTS:

Analysis of the results was from the study on all of subjects percentages of total T cells (CD3+ T cells), CD4+T cells and CD8+F cells in peripheral blood were not significantly different between the two significantly higher in RA patient group than that in healthy control group [(24.44±5.25)%, (14.93±3.82)%, P ＜ 0.05],while in RA patient group the percentage of TH2 cells and ratio of TH1 cells to TH2 cells from peripheral blood were not significantly different as compared with those of control group(P ＞ 0.05).

CONCLUSION:

Cellular immunologic function mediated by TH1 cells may be associated with the occurrence and development of RA.