Segregation of peripheral blood lymphocytes in sarcoidosis according to their affinity to insolubilized histamine

Using a method based on the differential affinity of mononuclear cells to insolubilized histamine, we were able to distinguish several differences in the composition of T cell subpopulations between healthy control subjects and sarcoidosis patients. In 5 of 10 patients with sarcoidosis, the ability of T cells to respond to three mitogens was severely depressed, while in the remaining 5 it was similar to the response of normal subjects. After the elimination of a subpopulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) that adhered to the histamine column, the response to mitogens of the unbound cells of normal control subjects was significantly lower than values obtained before separation. The histamine-unbound lymphocytes of the five patients with active sarcoidosis, whose unseparated PBMC responded poorly to mitogens, reacted significantly better to the mitogens than before the separation. This pattern of responsiveness has been previously only in PBMC of patients with autoimmune diseases. It seems that some patients with sarcoidosis possess a subpopulation of T-lymphocytes with suppressor activity and a specific affinity to insolubilized histamine, the elimination of which restores the level of response to almost normal.