PERSISTENTLY ALTERED T-CELL IMMUNITY IN HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS WITH THECONGENITAL-RUBELLA SYNDROME AND PROFOUND HEARING-LOSS

Because there are frequent progressive and autoimmune complications in children born with the congenital rubella syndrome, we evaluated immu noregulation in eight profoundly deaf adolescents with congenital rube lla syndrome who lived in a state school. Serum anti-viral antibodies, expressions of peripheral lymphocyte epitopes and serum soluble inter leukin 2 receptor (IL-2R) content were compared with those of 16 class mates with profound hearing loss of unknown cause and of 24 age-matche d, hearing students from this area. Both deaf groups showed activated but impaired T lymphocyte function compared with normals. Rubella viru s alteration of T cell function was suggested in congenital rubella sy ndrome students by elevated numbers of both CD4+ helper and CD25+ IL-2 R cells with unusually low released soluble IL-2R content. In contrast in deaf classmates elevated CD25+ and CD16+ natural killer cell group s and soluble IL-2R content with low numbers of CD4+ helper cells and CD4+ populations were of unknown etiology. Defective immunoregulation of the congenitally deaf to pathogens inherent in their environment ma y lead to autoimmune and other complications.