Wands K R, Isselbacher K J
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1975 Apr;72(4):1301-3. doi: 10.1073/pnas.72.4.1301.
Lymphocyte function in vitro was evaluated in patients with chronic active hepatitis and compared to normal controls. Circulating lymphocytes of patients were spontaneously cytotoxic to 51Cr-labeled human Chang liver cells and to suspensions of autologous liver cells obtained at the time of liver biopsy when tested at a lymphocyte target cell ratio of 200:1. Prednisone treatment of patients with chronic active hepatitis inhibited both spontaneous and concanavalin A-stimulated lymphocyte cytotoxicity to human Chang liver cells. Similarly, chronic prednisone administration substantially reduced lymphocyte cytotoxicity towards the patients' own liver cells in vitro, which correlated with a clinical, biochemical, and histological response to such therapy. Thus, patients with chronic hepatitis have circulating lymphocytes that are capable of causing destruction of their own liver cells in vitro. The beneficial effect of prednisone therapy in such patients may be related to this inhibition of lymphocyte cytotoxicity.
对慢性活动性肝炎患者的淋巴细胞功能进行了体外评估，并与正常对照组进行了比较。当以200:1的淋巴细胞与靶细胞比例进行检测时，患者的循环淋巴细胞对51Cr标记的人张氏肝癌细胞以及肝活检时获取的自体肝细胞悬液具有自发细胞毒性。用泼尼松治疗慢性活动性肝炎患者，可抑制对人张氏肝癌细胞的自发及刀豆蛋白A刺激的淋巴细胞细胞毒性。同样，长期给予泼尼松可在体外显著降低淋巴细胞对患者自身肝细胞的细胞毒性，这与对该治疗的临床、生化及组织学反应相关。因此，慢性肝炎患者的循环淋巴细胞在体外能够破坏自身肝细胞。泼尼松治疗对此类患者的有益作用可能与此种淋巴细胞细胞毒性的抑制有关。
