Primary biliary cirrhosis--phenotypic characterization of immunocompetent cells in peripheral blood and liver tissue.

Circulating T-cell subsets have been characterized in 18 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) using a simple immunoenzymatic staining method on stored and prefixed cell samples. Furthermore, a double immunoenzymatic method was used to study T-cell subsets and their relationship to HLA-DR+ cells in frozen sections of liver biopsies from 12 patients with PBC. In 10 cases blood and liver samples were taken simultaneously from the same patient. Patients with PBC of early histological stage showed an elevated absolute number of helper/inducer T-cells (Leu 3a+) and reduced relative percentages of suppressor/cytotoxic T-cells (Leu 2a+) compared with healthy subjects resulting in an elevated helper/suppressor ratio. Liver biopsies in PBC were dominated by helper inducer phenotype T-cells in all cases irrespective of histological stage, penicillamine treatment or the relative levels of circulating T-cell subsets. A relatively high amount of HLA-DR+ cells were seen, several of these in close approximation to T-cells.