Smf. Akbar et al., Peripheral blood T-cell responses to pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in primary biliary cirrhosis: role of antigen-presenting dendritic cells, EUR J CL IN, 31(7), 2001, pp. 639-646
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Research/Laboratory Medicine & Medical Tecnology","Medical Research General Topics
Background Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) are usually charac
terized by the presence of antibody to pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC)
in the sera and PDC-specific T cells in the liver. However, most of the pa
tients with PBC do not show peripheral blood T cells response to PDC. In th
is study, we re-evaluated the peripheral blood T cell responses to PDC in P
BC using antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs).
Materials and Methods Twenty-four patients with PBC (AMA-positive: 16; AMA-
negative: 8) and 13 normal controls were enrolled in the study. Peripheral
blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and highly enriched populations of T cells w
ere stimulated with either only PDC or DCs plus PDC or PDC-pulsed DC plus P
DC. Antibodies to different components of PDC were estimated by an immunobl
otting technique.
Results PBMC from only one out of ten AMA-positive PPC patients proliferate
d when cultured with only PDC. However, peripheral blood T cells from ten o
ut of ten AMA-positive PBC patients and three out of ten AMA-negative PBC p
atients, but none of the five normal controls showed PDC-specific prolifera
tion when cultured with PDC-pulsed DCs. Two of these three AMA-negative PBC
patients, although negative for AMA, were positive for antibodies to other
components of PDC.
Conclusions PDC-specific T cells are present in the peripheral blood from m
ost of the patients with PBC. This is the first report on the effectiveness
of antigen-pulsed DCs for the elucidation of autoantigen-specific immune r
esponse in human autoimmune diseases.