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γ T cells are decreased in the blood of children with Bordetella pertussis infection
Author(s) -
Bertotto A,
Benedictis FM De,
Vagliasindi C,
Radicioni M,
Spinozzi F,
Fabietti GM,
Castellucci G,
Ferraro L,
Cozzali R,
Niccoli A,
Vaccaro R
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1997.tb08844.x
Subject(s) - bordetella pertussis , medicine , immunology , whooping cough , asthma , t cell receptor , t cell , immune system , biology , bacteria , genetics , vaccination
The biological role of T cell receptor (TCR) γ bearing cells is not yet fully understood. We studied 12 children with Bordetella pertussis infection and 12 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls. Patients with whooping‐cough yielded significantly lower relative and absolute numbers of blood TCR‐γ+ cells than normal controls (both p < 0.001). It is suggested that the depletion of circulating γ T cells in patients with Bordetella pertussis infection might be the result of the dispatch of these cells to the site of inflammation, i.e. the bronchial mucosa. Interestingly, other human lung diseases, such as allergic bronchial asthma and sarcoidosis display similar pulmonary phenotypical features.