T-cell activation in Crohn's disease

Crohn’s Disease Mimicking Sarcoidosis in Bronchoalveolar Lavage

“…Histological appearance of granuloma, activation of macrophages, increased activity of T lymphocytes and elevated levels of interleukin-2 receptor are found in both diseases suggesting that sarcoidosis and Crohn’s disease may be different manifestations of the same disorder and explaining difficulties in defining the correct diagnosis in granulomatous diseases with manifestations in the lung and in the bowel [9, 10, 11]. …”

CD4 Antibody Treatment in Crohn's Disease

“…The number of mucosal T cells is increased, but the CD4 to CD8 ratio does not differ from that of control subjects (11). Tcell activation is not only evident in histologic specimens (17,18) but can also be shown in peripheral blood, as serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor are increased (19,20). This in contrast to the fact that mononuclear cells isolated from mucosa from Crohn's disease patients did show a slight increase in the expression of these markers (14).…”

Lymphocyte and macrophage interleukin receptors in inflammatory bowel disease: a more selective target for therapy?

“…It may represent an important inhibitory mechanism for all of these molecules.43 Soluble IL-2r is raised in the serum of patients with Crohn's disease, [44][45][46] and to a lesser extent in ulcerative colitis47 as well as in a number of other conditions characterised by cellular immune activation such as coeliac disease (in which levels fall on a gluten free diet48) and rheumatoid arthritis.49 Levels of sIL-2r in Crohn's disease44 46 47 and rheumatoid arthritis49 correlate well with disease activity. Thus, sIL-2r is a useful marker of immune activation in conditions characterised by T cell activation which may be more specific than acute phase proteins.…”