[Study of mechanisms in the pathogenesis of myelodysplastic syndrome: changes in lymphocyte subpopulations]

The mechanism of pathogenesis in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is still unknown up to the present day, but examination of blood and bone marrow from 22 patients with MDS showed that the majority had low lymphocyte counts in bone marrow. Using monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) OKT3, OKT4 and OKT8 combined with SRBC rosettes, the authors found that there was a significant decrease of OKT3-defined Pan-T lymphocytes in peripheral blood. This reduction was primarily confined to the OKT4-defined helper subset, but there was a relative increase in the OKT8-defined suppressor subpopulation. As a result, the ration OKT4/OKT8 was reversed. The data of MLC test also showed abnormalities of cell-mediated immunity function in the patients. The significance of these observed changes in the pathogenesis of MDS was discussed.