Cohen P L, Litvin D A, Winfield J B
Arthritis Rheum. 1982 Feb;25(2):168-73. doi: 10.1002/art.1780250209.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by increased numbers of circulating B cells activated polyclonally to secrete immunoglobulin. Because T cells secrete, or shed, various factors that are functionally important in regulating immunoglobulin production by B cells, a reverse hemolytic plaque assay was developed to quantitate such activated T cells. In this technique, we used a rabbit antiserum raised to supernatants of concanavalin-A--stimulated human lymphocytes. The relevant antigenic specificity of this antiserum is directed toward the shed surface membrane determinant(s) preferentially expressed on activated T cells. Freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 14 SLE patients contained more than 10 times the number of endogenously activated T cells than cells from normal subjects. Within the SLE group, plaque-forming T cells were particularly increased in patients with active disease. By linear regression analysis, a significant positive correlation was revealed between such activated T cells and immunoglobulin-secreting B cells, also measured by a reverse plaque assay (r = 0.83). It appears that both activated B cells and T cells circulate in increased numbers in SLE. Additional investigation will be required to define the molecular nature of the T cell product(s) being measured and to clarify the relationship of these findings to the immunoregulatory abnormalities in this disorder.
系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）的特征是循环中被多克隆激活以分泌免疫球蛋白的B细胞数量增加。由于T细胞分泌或释放多种对调节B细胞免疫球蛋白产生具有重要功能的因子，因此开发了一种反向溶血空斑试验来定量此类活化的T细胞。在这项技术中，我们使用了针对伴刀豆球蛋白A刺激的人淋巴细胞上清液产生的兔抗血清。该抗血清的相关抗原特异性针对活化T细胞上优先表达的脱落表面膜决定簇。14例SLE患者新鲜分离的外周血单个核细胞中内源性活化T细胞的数量是正常受试者细胞的10倍以上。在SLE组中，活动性疾病患者的空斑形成T细胞尤其增加。通过线性回归分析，发现此类活化T细胞与同样通过反向空斑试验测量的免疫球蛋白分泌B细胞之间存在显著正相关（r = 0.83）。看来在SLE中，活化的B细胞和T细胞循环数量均增加。需要进一步研究来确定所测量的T细胞产物的分子性质，并阐明这些发现与该疾病免疫调节异常之间的关系。
