Immunological studies on Crohn's disease. VII. Reduced immunologic activity in monocytes.

Studies done in our laboratories showed that monocytes in Crohn's disease (CD) have an increased phagocytic activity determined using chemiluminescence assay. To further elucidate the pathogenesis of CD, we studied the monokine production activity and the proportion of HLA-DR(+) monocytes in the peripheral blood of 16 Japanese with CD. In contrast to the phagocytic function, an impaired monokine production activity and a decreased percentage of DR(+) monocytes were evident. The number of DR(+) monocytes showed a negative correlation to CRP. These findings provide additional information on the monocyte function in CD and indicate that monocyte dysfunction may be closely linked to the pathogenesis of CD.