T lymphocyte populations in multiple sclerosis

Abstract

In 36 patients representing different clinical stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) (9 patients with acute exacerbations; 21 patients in remission; 5 patients with chronic progressive MS) determinations of T lymphocyte populations using monoclonal antibodies against surface antigens (OKT3 (pan T cells), OKT4 (helper T cells), OKT8 (cytotoxic/suppressor T cells] were performed. Compared to the control group (40 healthy individuals) a clear elevation of the T4/T8 ratio was found in acute exacerbations and to a lesser degree in patients with inactive phases of MS. Patients with chronic progressive disease did not show increased T4/T8 ratios. Serial determination of lymphocyte populations after corticosteroid therapy in 10 selected patients revealed no significant changes which could be attributed to this therapeutic modality. Pathogenetic and clinical implications of the shifts in surface antigen expression of T lymphocyte populations mirroring the clinical course of MS are discussed.

Detection of altered T helper 1 and T helper 2 cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with multiple sclerosis utilizing intracellular cytokine detection by flow cytometry and surface marker analysis

“…Since the disease manifests itself in CNS plaques, significant pathology in other organs is limited; however, immune abnormalities are detectable in the peripheral blood. The presence of myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific T cells has been demonstrated in the peripheral blood (9,31), and MS patients have been found to have elevated ratios of CD4 ϩ /CD8 ϩ cells (5,14,30,38) and decreased percentages of CD28 Ϫ CD8 ϩ suppressor cell precursors in the peripheral blood (5). Recent studies have indicated that cytokines play an important role in the initiation, progres-sion, remission, and exacerbation of MS. Gamma interferon (IFN-␥) and tumor necrosis factor alpha have been found in the CNS plaque material of patients with MS and animals with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), the best animal model of MS (25,35).…”

Alterations in levels of CD28-/CD8+ suppressor cell precursor and CD45RO+/CD4+ memory T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of multiple sclerosis patients

“…Since the disease manifests itself in central nervous system plaques, significant pathology in other organs is limited; however, immune abnormalities are detectable in the peripheral blood. The presence of myelin basic protein-specific T cells has been demonstrated in the peripheral blood (6,24), and MS patients have been found to have elevated ratios of CD4 ϩ and CD8 ϩ cells (9,21,28). Taking into account the well-documented immunoregulatory abnormalities in MS, we have performed a comprehensive peripheral blood immunophenotype survey of MS patients and normal controls.…”

“…1). It has been well documented that MS patients have an elevated CD4/CD8 ratio in both their peripheral blood (9,21,28) and their cerebrospinal fluid (11,14). Our analysis of T-cell subsets further confirmed those earlier observations that MS patients indeed have a significant elevation in the peripheral blood CD4 ϩ /CD8 ϩ T-cell ratio.…”