Airo' P, Scarsi M, Brucato A, Benicchi T, Malacarne F, Cavazzana I, Danieli E, LiDestri M, Motta M, Caimi L, Tincani A, Imberti L
Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
Lupus. 2006;15(9):553-61. doi: 10.1177/0961203306071869.
The objectives of the study were to characterize the production, function and survival of T lymphocytes of children with prolonged fetal exposure to dexamethasone for anti-Ro/SS-A antibodies associated congenital complete heart block. The analysis of thymic function, studied by measuring the level of T-cell receptor excision circles, was performed by real time PCR, the composition of T-cell subpopulation was evaluated by flow cytometry and the T-cell diversity was assayed by heteroduplex analysis. T-cell competence was gauged at two functional levels by determining the proliferation and the number of T-cell divisions and by measuring gamma-interferon production after mitogenic stimulation. We observed that the thymic output, distribution of T-cell subsets, thymidine incorporation, number of T-cell divisions, and y-interferon production were comparable to those of age-matched control. On the contrary, heteroduplex analysis demonstrated the presence of both polyclonal and oligoclonal peripheral T-cell repertoires. In conclusion, the analysis of the T-cell compartment in children with prolonged intrauterine exposure to high dose dexamethasone did not disclose any relevant abnormality, except a restriction of T-cell receptor diversity in some patients.
本研究的目的是描述因抗Ro/SS-A抗体相关先天性完全性心脏传导阻滞而在胎儿期长期暴露于地塞米松的儿童T淋巴细胞的产生、功能及存活情况。通过实时PCR检测T细胞受体切除环水平来研究胸腺功能，采用流式细胞术评估T细胞亚群的组成，并用异源双链分析测定T细胞多样性。通过测定增殖情况和T细胞分裂次数以及在有丝分裂原刺激后测量γ-干扰素产生，在两个功能水平上评估T细胞能力。我们观察到胸腺输出、T细胞亚群分布、胸腺嘧啶核苷掺入、T细胞分裂次数以及γ-干扰素产生与年龄匹配的对照组相当。相反，异源双链分析显示存在多克隆和寡克隆外周T细胞库。总之，对在子宫内长期暴露于高剂量地塞米松的儿童的T细胞区室进行分析，除了一些患者T细胞受体多样性受限外，未发现任何相关异常。
