ISSN:
1432-1076
Keywords:
Hypogammaglobulinaemia
;
B-lymphocytes
;
T-helper cells
;
T-suppressor cells
;
Plaque-forming cells
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract We report six Chinese boys with hypogammaglobulinaemia. All but one had very low or undetectable circulating B-lymphocytes, two had reversed CD4/CD8 ratios (in one of whom this later became normal), one had reduced lymphocyte proliferative responses to concanavalin A and pokeweed mitogen and three had deficient responses to OKT3. Generation of antibody-secreting cells in response to pokeweed mitogen was markedly defective in all patients. Co-cultures of purified lymphocyte subsets from the patients with those of normal donors revealed that in addition to B-cell deficiency seen in all patients, two had T-helper cell deficiency and two had T-suppressor cell hyperactivity. One of the latter patients was treated with cimetidine in an attempt to ablate histamine type 2 receptor-bearing suppressor cells: the absolute number of such cells was temporarily reduced but there was no concurrent correction of the functional hyperactivity. These studies point to the variable nature of T-regulatory cell deficiencies in hypogammaglobulinaemia.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01955899
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