Estimation of T- and K-cell activity in the peripheral blood of sarcoidosis patients.

Depressed ADCC activity was found in sarcoidosis patients in clinical Stage II when whole blood was used as the effector cell pool. Whole blood in Stage I patients as well as purified peripheral lymphocytes of sarcoidosis patients did not reveal a diminished cytotoxic activity. Stimulation experiments with PHA, Con A, and PPD in two different concentrations resulted in a normal PHA response, a significantly decreased Con A response (regardless of the clinical stage of the patients), and a significantly decreased PPD responsiveness of peripheral lymphocytes in Stage II patients, respectively. Regarding the distribution of peripheral B and T lymphocytes, only a significantly depressed T-cell number in Stage I sarcoidosis patients was observed. Peripheral cells forming EA and EAC rosettes and staining for membrane-bound immunoglobulins were within normal ranges. Serum antibody titers to different herpes viruses, including Epstein-Barr virus, were found not to be elevated. Twenty percent of sarcoidosis patients showed anti-immunoglobulins in their sera specific for the Fc and Fab fragment.