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IMMUNOLOGIC PARAMETERS IN SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS
Author(s) -
BRUNS MARCO,
HERRMANN KONRAD,
HAUSTEIN UWEFRITHJOF
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
international journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-4632
pISSN - 0011-9059
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-4362.1994.tb01488.x
Subject(s) - autoantibody , immunology , medicine , anti nuclear antibody , fibrosis , immune system , scleroderma (fungus) , antibody , connective tissue disease , lymphocyte , autoimmune disease , procollagen peptidase , endocrinology , pathology , inoculation
Background . Immunologic abnormalities seem to play an important role in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Methods . We studied the following immune parameters to get more insight into SSc: autoantibodies (antinuclear antibodies ( ana ), anti‐Scl‐70, anticentromere antibodies ( aca ) subsets of lymphocyte subpopulations and markers of their activation, as well as serum levels of il ‐2, the soluble il ‐2 receptor ( sil ‐2 r ), il ‐6 and its correlation to N‐terminal procollagen‐Ill propeptide ( p iii p ), and finally, the il ‐6 production by SSc and normal dermal fibroblasts. Results . In patients with active SSc, we found a reduced number of cd 2+ T‐lymphocytes and an increase in the expression of T‐lymphocyte activation markers such as cd 25+ and cd 71+, hla ‐ dr la, as well as elevated serum levels of sil ‐2 lr and il ‐6. SSc fibroblasts did not produce more il ‐6 than normal fibroblasts in monolayer cultures. Conclusions . Our data show that a wide range of immunologic parameters are altered in SSc. In general, T‐helper ( th ) lymphocytes are activated possibly because of reduced T‐suppressor ( ts ) and natural killer ( nk )‐cell levels, TH may polyclonally stimulate B cells, which in turn produce higher amounts of autoantibodies. Our findings support the concept that TH cell‐derived cytokines/growth factors stimulate matrix protein synthesis by fibroblasts, resulting in generalized fibrosis.