Open AccessSuperantigen‐induced T cell responses in acute rheumatic fever and chronic rheumatic heart disease patients
Author(s) -
BHATNAGAR A.,
GROVER A.,
GANGULY N. K.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
clinical & experimental immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1365-2249
pISSN - 0009-9104
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2249.1999.00853.x
Subject(s) - superantigen , immunology , cd8 , pathogenesis , cytokine , t cell , biology , immune system , medicine
CD4 + and CD8 + T cells from healthy donors, acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and chronic rheumatic heart disease (CRHD) patients responded variably to a superantigen from Streptococcus pyogenes —Streptococcal pyrogenic erythrogenic toxin A (SPE‐A). In vitro culture of CD4 + T cells from ARF patients (CD4‐ARF) with SPE‐A exhibited a Th1 type of response as they produced high levels of IL‐2, while CD4 + T cells from CRHD patients (CD4‐RHD) secreted IL‐4 and IL‐10 in large amounts, i.e. Th2 type of cytokine profile. The skewing of human CD4 + T cells (in response to SPE‐A stimulation) to Th1 or Th2 type reflects the role of the two subsets in a disorder with differing intensities at the two extremes of the spectrum. Moreover, the anergy induction experiments revealed that CD8‐ARF and CD8‐RHD undergo anergy (to different extents), whereas CD4 + T cells do not, in response to re‐stimulation by SPE‐A. These results initially demonstrate that both CD4 + and CD8 + T cells respond differentially to SPE‐A, and hence it is an important observation with respect to the pathogenesis of ARF/CRHD. Anergy in CD8 + T cells in the presence of SPE‐A in vitro goes a step further to show the clinical relevance of these cells and their possible role in suppression of the disease.