The main goal of this investigation was to evaluate the abnormal T-cell immunity in cleanup workers who took part in the cleanup after the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) of apparently healthy cleanup workers (n = 134) were used to analyze the phenotype and proliferative response to mitogens in vitro. Evaluation of the MNC phenotype of cleanup workers did not reveal a significant disturbance in the T-cell subpopulation content except for an increase in CD3+CD16+56+ (NKT) cells. Immunophenotyping of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-activated MNCs demonstrated suppression of CD4+ T-cell propagation and augmentation of CD8+ T-cell propagation in vitro compared to control individuals. DNA synthesis in the MNCs of cleanup workers was markedly inhibited after activation for 3 days with suboptimal concentrations of PHA, pokeweed mitogen and PMA. In contrast to control individuals, the monocytes of cleanup workers were able to stimulate the proliferation of T cells from healthy individuals but inhibited the proliferation of T cells from cleanup workers. This study affords a better understanding of the response of MNCs to stimulation with suboptimal concentrations of PHA and provides an approach to a more accurate analysis of the immunological disorders found after exposure to radiation from Chernobyl-related activities.
The spectrum and features of neurological disorders have been changed due to the Chernobyl catastrophe in the Republic of Belarus. More recently neurologists in Belarus have noted a significant increase in the frequency of myasthenia gravis (MG) with concomitant rise in the thymomas. There is some evidence suggesting that retroviruses play a key role in the development and pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. This study analyzed thymomas from 45 MG patients from the Republic of Belarus by using PCR and primers for two regions of FV--gag and bel-2 genes. The results showed that none of the varied thymuses from the 45 MG patients contained FV genome. No relationship can be confirmed between FV and this disease and the results suggest that no pathological link between FV and MG exists.
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