[In vitro studies of cellular immunity in chronic bronchitis with and without corticosteroid medication]

In 29 patients with chronic bronchitis, 17 of whom were receiving systemic prednisolone, parameters of cellular and humoral immunity from the blood were evaluated and compared with a control group. Serum concentrations of immunoglobulins IgG, A and M, IgG subclasses, lymphocyte subsets and lymphocyte response to mitogenes (PHA, ConA, PWM), antibodies (anti-CD3) and tetanus antigen were determined. Whereas T cell subsets did not show any difference between all groups, the relative proportion of B lymphocytes was lower in the patient group without corticosteroids. Both patient groups showed a decreased lymphocyte response. As expected, serum IgG was lower in the steroid group, which could not be explained by additional cellular findings. Our data indicate that patients suffering from chronic bronchitis may show signs of a decreased cellular immunity.