Abstract
In order to disclose the clinical significance of the impaired cell-mediated immune response in SLE, a number of T-lymphocyte and the response to nonspecific antigen, phytohemagglutinin (PHA) expressed by stimulation index were determined.
The relative percentage of circulating T-lymphocyte in normal controls was 51.1% and absolute number was 1, 233, whereas in SLE patients, it was 44.5% and 662. There was a significant decrease, especially in the active stage. The number of T-lymphocyte did not differ by the disease status such as non-renal, renal and nephrotic syndrome.
The stimulation index in the normal control was 4.5, whereas in SLE it was 2.19. The stimulation index in SLE patients was significantly reduced from that of the normal control. The stimulation index did not differ by the type of the disease and the disease activity, but related to the severity.
In an attempt to correlate the absolute number of T-lymphocyte and stimulation index with disease activity and anti-DNA-antibody, serial deter minations were performed on 5 patients. Early in the course of the disease, T-lymphocyte number and stimulation index were relatively decreased fol lowed by the progressive rise after the institution of steroid therapy.
From this study, it becomes evident that T-lymphocyte controls anti DNA-antibody titer.
