[Morphological studies on microtubules in neutrophils of patients with Behçet's disease]

Cytoplasmic microtubules were investigated with two different methods in Behçet's disease. First, with an electron microscope, the peripheral blood neutrophils of 6 patients with Behçet's disease at the exacerbation stage and those of 3 healthy controls were examined. The number of microtubules was counted on enlarged electron micrographs of the neutrophils. Each electron micrograph was taken at a direct magnification of 15,000, so that at least one centriole was contained in the photograph. It was enlarged twice the size of the negative and printed. The average number of microtubules in the neutrophils of the patients was 4.96 +/- 2.76 (SD) and 2.36 +/- 1.88 (SD) in the control subjects. This difference was statistically highly significant (p less than 0.0005). Secondly, the peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes of 24 patients and those of 13 healthy controls were examined with an indirect immunofluorescence technique. The distribution and the pattern of the microtubules differed between the patients at the exacerbation stage and normal subjects and also between the patients at the exacerbation stage and the remission stage. These results suggested that microtubules may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of Behçet's disease.