Girard J P, Paychère M, Cuevas M, Fernandes B
Clin Exp Immunol. 1977 Jan;27(1):85-91.
Eight hundred and eighty patients hospitalized in a geriatric hospital were routinely tested with 2, 10, 30 and 100 i.u. tuberculin. Among these, fifty-four patients were selected on the basis of negative skin tests and absence of evident diseases interfering with the function of the immune apparatus. A battery of tests analysing cell-mediated immunity was applied to those fifty-four patients. It appears that elderly patients having a negative test to 100 i.u. tuberculin show very infrequent sensitization to three other thymus-dependent antigens. The capacity of this selected population to become sensitized to DNCB is poor (20%). Furthermore they exhibit a low per cent of peripheral blood T cells (36%) and a poor capacity to respond in vitro to mitogens such as PHA. Testing the in vitro response to a battery of antigens demonstrates a good correlation with the results of the skin tests. Finally the leucocytes of 25% of this selected population failed to produce LIF in vitro in the presence of PHA. These results suggest not only an absolute decrease in the population of circulating T lymphocytes in those elderly humans; but very likely, at least in some cases, a functional impairment of T cells.
一家老年医院收治的880名患者常规接受了2、10、30和100国际单位结核菌素的检测。其中，54名患者基于皮肤试验阴性且无明显干扰免疫器官功能的疾病而被挑选出来。对这54名患者进行了一系列分析细胞介导免疫的检测。结果显示，对100国际单位结核菌素检测呈阴性的老年患者对其他三种胸腺依赖性抗原的致敏情况非常少见。该选定人群对二硝基氯苯致敏的能力较差（20%）。此外，他们外周血T细胞的比例较低（36%），对诸如植物血凝素等促有丝分裂原的体外反应能力也较差。对一系列抗原的体外反应检测结果与皮肤试验结果具有良好的相关性。最后，该选定人群中有25%的白细胞在植物血凝素存在的情况下体外未能产生淋巴细胞抑制因子。这些结果不仅表明这些老年人体内循环T淋巴细胞数量绝对减少；而且很可能至少在某些情况下，T细胞存在功能障碍。
