Abnormal pancreolauryl tests in coeliac disease: lack of correlation with the degree of intestinal mucosal damage.

AIMS: To determine the frequency of abnormal pancreolauryl tests in untreated and treated adults with coeliac disease and to see whether abnormalities in treated coeliac patients correlate with the degree of recovery of intestinal morphology or brush border enzyme activity. METHODS: Pancreolauryl tests were performed in a study population of 57 adult coeliac patients (25 on gluten containing diets and 32 on gluten free diets), 59 symptomatic controls, and eight patients with pancreatic disease. Brush border enzyme activity and morphological assessment were performed on small intestinal biopsies in 27 of the treated coeliac patients. RESULTS: Forty per cent of untreated coeliac patients and 18% of treated coeliac patients had abnormal tests. In treated coeliac patients, no significant correlation was detected between the pancreolauryl test result and either brush border enzyme activity or morphological parameters. CONCLUSION: Abnormal pancreolauryl test results are common in untreated and treated adult coeliac disease patients. Abnormalities in treated coeliac patients do not correlate with the degree of recovery of small intestinal morphology or brush border enzymes.

Polypeptide specificities of measles virus-reactive T cell lines and clones derived from a patient with multiple sclerosis.

Eleven cloned and uncloned measles virus-specific T cell lines were generated from peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from a patient with multiple sclerosis and were assayed for measles polypeptide specificity. Three clones reacted specifically with the fusion (F) protein and one recognized the hemagglutinin (HA). Two reacted with whole virus but not with any of the purified proteins. Five cell lines proliferated in response to multiple measles polypeptides. The addition of anti-HA or anti-F monoclonal antibodies to two of the multispecific cell lines each resulted in partial suppression of the proliferative response to whole virus by the cell lines. Two of the three F-reactive clones recognized antigen in association with a subgroup of HLA-DR4; the third responded to F only in the presence of autologous antigen-presenting cells. Of the two clones that reacted only with whole virus, one was restricted to DP3 and one to autologous cells. The HA-specific clone was DP3 restricted. Several cell lines recognized multiple measles polypeptides in association with a single HLA antigen. Recognition of individual measles polypeptides does not segregate with specific genetic restriction elements.