Twenty-five patients with clinically proven, patch test positive nickel dermatitis were studied with the lymphocyte transformation test (LTT). Serial dilutions of NiS04 were present in the lymphocyte culture. None of the controls showed lymphocyte blast transformation. In fourteen patients maximal incorporation of thymidine occurred at the highest dilutions (i :5O,ooo-i :ioo,ooo). In eleven patients the highest incorporation occurred at the lower dilutions. The nature of the antigen responsible for the specific reaction remains unknown.Allergic contact dermatitis due to nickel hypersensitivity has commonly been studied by the patch test method using an aqueous solution of nickel sulphate. Several workers have used the lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) in patch test positive nickel sensitive subjects (a more sensitive technique for the detection of contact hypersensitivity.In an attempt to find a better understanding of some of the reported results, we have investigated the effect of using various doses of nickel sulphate in the LTT. This nickel salt is one for which there are no published reports of non-specific stimulation of lymphocytes.
MATERIALS AND METHODSTwenty-five patients with clinically confirmed nickel contact dermatitis were studied. All patients were patch tested on the skin of the upper back with a 2-5% (o-i6 mol/1) aqueous solution of nickel sulphate (NiS04, 7H2O), (Merck), 0-25 ml (0-3 mmol), spread on an area of i cm^ and read after 48 h. On removal of the patch all patients showed a vesicular reaction which persisted for several days. LTT was performed on each patient using serial dilutions of nickel sulphate. Ten normal people without a history of eczema and with a negative patch test to NiS04 were used as controls.
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