Modulatory effect of sera from scleroderma patients on lymphocyte-induced angiogenesis. II. Effector cells for the enhancing effect of acroscleroderma patients' sera.

In our previous study, using the modified lymphocyte-induced angiogenesis assay, we found that incubation of normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with sera from patients with acroscleroderma, but not with diffuse scleroderma, markedly enhanced their angiogenic capability. The results of the present work suggest that this enhancement is mediated by lymphocytes bearing receptors for the Fc portion of IgG and belonging mainly to the CD4+ T-cell subset.