Peripheral blood lymphocyte distribution in scleroderma.

Determination in peripheral blood T and B lymphocytes performed in progressive systemic scleroderma (8 patients); dermatomyositis (5 patients); and inflammatory or mesenchymal scleroderma ('mixed' connective tissue disease) (5 patients) demonstrated a marked increase in peripheral B cells with T cell depression in patients with mesenchymal scleroderma. Patients with progressive systemic scleroderma and dermatomyositis demonstrated also a peripheral T depression, but no consistent changes in B cell population were found. The clear relationship between a B lymphocyte increase and elevated immunoglobulins, antinuclear and antiribonucleoprotein antibody and positive direct immunofluorescence of skin (basal membrane and blood vessels) defines inflammatory or mesenchymal scleroderma in which a disturbance in humoral immunity is involved. B lymphocyte determination can help to measure these changes in immunoreactivity.