[Serum soluble CD4 and CD8 levels in Kawasaki disease]

The levels of soluble CD4 (sCD4) and sCD8 in serum correlate with T cell subset activation and may be important in monitoring and characterizing disease processes in immunological diseases. We compared acute Kawasaki disease (KD) with anaphylactoid purpura (AP) and measles, in terms of serum sCD4 and sCD8 levels. The levels of serum sCD4 and sCD8 were measured by a sandwich enzyme immunoassay. In addition, peripheral blood T-cell subsets were analysed by single and two-colour flow-cytometric analyses in KD patients. The levels of serum sCD4 and sCD8 were significantly elevated in patients during the acute stages of KD and measles, but not in AP. Peripheral blood CD4+, CD8+ and also HLA-DR+T cell counts did not increase during the acute stage of KD. Our results suggest that there is a low level of activation of peripheral blood T cells during acute KD, or that infiltrating T cells in some local tissues of KD patients contribute to the elevated levels of serum sCD4 and sCD8.