T cell differentiation antigens expressed by peripheral blood lymphocytes in Crohn's disease.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether an imbalance of peripheral blood immunoregulatory T cells is a feature of Crohn's disease. The cluster of differentiation antigens 3,4 and 8 were investigated and the relative prevalence of PBL expressing each antigen was defined using a panel of three monoclonal antibodies (OKT3, OTK4 and OKT8). A significant decrease in the OKT3 and OKT4 positive cells was found in CD patients as compared with healthy controls. No significant difference was observed between patients and controls in the proportion of T8 positive cells and in the T4/T8 ratio. While confirming a significant decrease of circulating total resting T cells in patient with CD, the results of this study indicate that the disease is not primarily related to an imbalance of the proportion of the T cells subsets.