Skip to main content
PMC home page
Gut logoLink to Gut
. 1984 Jul;25(7):743–747. doi: 10.1136/gut.25.7.743

Loss of suppressor T-cells in active inflammatory bowel disease.

N J Godin, D B Sachar, R Winchester, C Simon, H D Janowitz
PMCID: PMC1432610  PMID: 6234211

Abstract

The proportions and absolute numbers of helper and suppressor T-cells in 40 patients with inflammatory bowel disease and 22 control subjects were determined, using the monoclonal antibodies OKT 4 and OKT 8. There were no significant differences in helper or suppressor cell proportions among 15 steroid treated patients with active inflammatory bowel disease, 10 patients with inactive inflammatory bowel disease, 10 patients with other gastrointestinal diseases, or 12 normal control subjects. In contrast, 15 patients with active inflammatory bowel disease not treated with corticosteroids manifested increased proportions of helper cells and decreased proportions of suppressor cells (p less than 0.001), compared with all other patient groups and to normal controls. When absolute numbers of helper and suppressor subsets were measured, these alterations in proportions of helper and suppressor cells were primarily attributable to decreased counts of suppressor T-cells both in patients with active Crohn's disease and in those with ulcerative colitis (p less than 0.01). In four patients undergoing serial study, the helper/suppressor ratios appeared to rise and fall respectively with clinical exacerbations and remissions of disease. These data provide additional evidence for the involvement of cellular immune systems in these disease processes.

Full text

PDF
743

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alexander G. J., Nouri-Aria K. T., Eddleston A. L., Williams R. Contrasting relations between suppressor-cell function and suppressor-cell number in chronic liver disease. Lancet. 1983 Jun 11;1(8337):1291–1293. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(83)92410-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Auer I. O., Buschmann C., Ziemer E. Immune status in Crohn's disease. 2. Originally unimpaired primary cell mediated immunity in vitro. Gut. 1978 Jul;19(7):618–626. doi: 10.1136/gut.19.7.618. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Auer I. O., Wechsler W., Ziemer E., Malchow H., Sommer H. Immune status in Crohn's disease. I. Leukocyte and lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1978;13(5):561–571. doi: 10.3109/00365527809181765. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Elson C. O., Graeff A. S., James S. P., Strober W. Covert suppressor T cells in Crohn's disease. Gastroenterology. 1981 Jun;80(6):1513–1521. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fiocchi C., Battisto J. R., Farmer R. G. Gut mucosal lymphocytes in inflammatory bowel disease: isolation and preliminary functional characterization. Dig Dis Sci. 1979 Sep;24(9):705–717. doi: 10.1007/BF01314469. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ginsburg C. H., Falchuk Z. M. Defective autologous mixed-lymphocyte reaction and suppressor cell generation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology. 1982 Jul;83(1 Pt 1):1–9. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Goodacre R. L., Bienenstock J. Reduced suppressor cell activity in intestinal lymphocytes from patients with Crohn's disease. Gastroenterology. 1982 Apr;82(4):653–658. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hodgson H. J., Wands J. R., Isselbacher K. J. Decreased suppressor cell activity in inflammatory bowel disease. Clin Exp Immunol. 1978 Jun;32(3):451–458. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hunninghake G. W., Crystal R. G. Pulmonary sarcoidosis: a disorder mediated by excess helper T-lymphocyte activity at sites of disease activity. N Engl J Med. 1981 Aug 20;305(8):429–434. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198108203050804. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. James S. P., Elson C. O., Jones E. A., Strober W. Abnormal regulation of immunoglobulin synthesis in vitro in primary biliary cirrhosis. Gastroenterology. 1980 Aug;79(2):242–254. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kirsner J. B., Shorter R. G. Recent developments in nonspecific inflammatory bowel disease (second of two parts). N Engl J Med. 1982 Apr 8;306(14):837–848. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198204083061404. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Korsmeyer S. J., Williams R. C., Jr, Wilson I. D., Strickland R. G. Lymphocytotoxic antibody in inflammatory bowel disease. A family study. N Engl J Med. 1975 Nov 27;293(22):1117–1120. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197511272932203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Korsmeyer S., Strickland R. G., Wilson I. D., Williams R. C., Jr Serum lymphocytotoxic and lymphocytophilic antibody activity in inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology. 1974 Oct;67(4):578–583. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kung P., Goldstein G., Reinherz E. L., Schlossman S. F. Monoclonal antibodies defining distinctive human T cell surface antigens. Science. 1979 Oct 19;206(4416):347–349. doi: 10.1126/science.314668. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Marshak R. H., Lindner A. E., Janowitz H. D. Granulomatous ileocolitis. Gut. 1966 Jun;7(3):258–264. doi: 10.1136/gut.7.3.258. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Meyers S., Sacher D. B., Taub R. N., Janowitz H. D. Anergy to dinitrochlorobenzene and depression of T-lymphocytes in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Gut. 1976 Nov;17(11):911–915. doi: 10.1136/gut.17.11.911. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Morimoto C., Reinherz E. L., Schlossman S. F., Schur P. H., Mills J. A., Steinberg A. D. Alterations in immunoregulatory T cell subsets in active systemic lupus erythematosus. J Clin Invest. 1980 Nov;66(5):1171–1174. doi: 10.1172/JCI109948. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Pepys E. O., Fagan E. A., Tennent G. A., Chadwick V. S., Pepys M. B. Enumeration of lymphocyte populations defined by surface markers in the whole blood of patients with Crohn's disease. Gut. 1982 Sep;23(9):766–769. doi: 10.1136/gut.23.9.766. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Reinherz E. L., Kung P. C., Goldstein G., Schlossman S. F. A monoclonal antibody reactive with the human cytotoxic/suppressor T cell subset previously defined by a heteroantiserum termed TH2. J Immunol. 1980 Mar;124(3):1301–1307. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Reinherz E. L., Kung P. C., Goldstein G., Schlossman S. F. A monoclonal antibody with selective reactivity with functionally mature human thymocytes and all peripheral human T cells. J Immunol. 1979 Sep;123(3):1312–1317. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Reinherz E. L., Kung P. C., Goldstein G., Schlossman S. F. Further characterization of the human inducer T cell subset defined by monoclonal antibody. J Immunol. 1979 Dec;123(6):2894–2896. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Reinherz E. L., Kung P. C., Goldstein G., Schlossman S. F. Separation of functional subsets of human T cells by a monoclonal antibody. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Aug;76(8):4061–4065. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.8.4061. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Reinherz E. L., Schlossman S. F. Current concepts in immunology: Regulation of the immune response--inducer and suppressor T-lymphocyte subsets in human beings. N Engl J Med. 1980 Aug 14;303(7):370–373. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198008143030704. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Reinherz E. L., Weiner H. L., Hauser S. L., Cohen J. A., Distaso J. A., Schlossman S. F. Loss of suppressor T cells in active multiple sclerosis. Analysis with monoclonal antibodies. N Engl J Med. 1980 Jul 17;303(3):125–129. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198007173030303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Sachar D. B., Auslander M. O., Walfish J. S. Aetiological theories of inflammatory bowel disease. Clin Gastroenterol. 1980 May;9(2):231–257. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Sachar D. B., Taub R. N., Brown S. M., Present D. H., Korelitz B. I., Janowitz H. D. Imparied lymphocyte responsiveness in inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology. 1973 Feb;64(2):203–209. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Smolen J. S., Chused T. M., Leiserson W. M., Reeves J. P., Alling D., Steinberg A. D. Heterogeneity of immunoregulatory T-cell subsets in systemic lupus erythematosus. Correlation with clinical features. Am J Med. 1982 May;72(5):783–790. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(82)90544-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Strickland R. G., Husby G., Black W. C., Williams R. C., Jr Peripheral blood and intestinal lymphocyte sub-populations in Crohn's disease. Gut. 1975 Nov;16(11):847–853. doi: 10.1136/gut.16.11.847. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Victorino R. M., Hodgson H. J. Alteration in T lymphocyte subpopulations in inflammatory bowel disease. Clin Exp Immunol. 1980 Jul;41(1):156–165. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Waye J. D. The role of colonoscopy in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease. Gastrointest Endosc. 1977 Feb;23(3):150–154. doi: 10.1016/s0016-5107(77)73622-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Wybran J., Carr M. C., Fudenberg H. H. The human rosette-forming cell as a marker of a population of thymus-derived cells. J Clin Invest. 1972 Oct;51(10):2537–2543. doi: 10.1172/JCI107069. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Gut are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES