CROHNS-DISEASE IS ACCOMPANIED BY CHANGES IN THE CD4(-CELL RECEPTOR BVREPERTOIRE OF LAMINA PROPRIA LYMPHOCYTES(), BUT NOT CD8(+), T)

To identify disease-specific T cell changes that occur in Crohn's dise ase (CD), the T cell receptor (TCR) BV repertoires of lamina propria l ymphocytes (LPL) isolated from the diseased colon of seven CD patients and eight controls were determined by semiquantitative polymerase cha in reaction (qPCR). As an internal control for the effects of HLA and other genes on the TCR repertoire, the BV repertoires of peripheral bl ood lymphocytes (PBL) from the same individuals were similarly determi ned and used for comparison. It was observed that the BV repertoires o f LPL and PBL within the same individual were very different in both t he CD and control groups. However, the CD4(+), but not CD8(+), reperto ires of LPL and PBL differed to a much greater extent in the CD group than in the control group. Furthermore, in each CD patient there was a unique pattern of BV segments which were increased in the CD4(+) LPL repertoire relative to that in PBL. These observations suggest that th e inflammatory process in CD involves responses by specific CD4(+) T c ells to specific antigens. The isolation of such inflammation-specific CD4(+) T cells may make it possible to identify the antigens which ar e responsible for the inflammatory process in CD and provide a better understanding of its pathogenesis. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.