A study of t cell populations in alcoholic cirrhosis and chronic alcoholism.

It has been suggested that the various immunological abnormalities found in patients with cirrhosis might have contributed to the development of liver disease. T cells and their subpopulations were enumerated in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, in patients with severe alcoholism but no detectable liver disease, and in 2 control groups (non-drinkers and social drinkers) in an attempt to determine which changes, if any, are related to and a result of cirrhosis, and which are related to alcoholism and therefore contributing factors in the pathogenesis of cirrhosis. Patients with alcoholic cirrhosis were found to have a decreased percentage of T cells, but the normal %s of B cells and monocytes when compared with controls. There were no differences between the 4 groups in the %s of T cells composed by the subset that rosette with ox red cells coated with IgM anti-ox erythrocyte antibody (T mu cells). However, the %s of T cells composed by the subset that rosette with ox red cells coated with IgG anti-ox erythrocyte antibody (T gamma cells) were found to be significantly decreased in patients with chronic alcoholism when compared with controls, and in patients with alcoholic liver disease when compared with chronic alcoholics. Many factors contribute to the development of cirrhosis: low numbers of T gamma cells may be an indication of individual susceptibility to progressive liver disease in patients with chronic alcoholism.