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Cellular immunity to collagen and laminin in scleroderma
Arthritis and Rheumatism
|July 1, 1985
Summary
Some scleroderma patients exhibit cellular immunity to laminin and type IV collagen, but not other collagen types. Clinical factors did not predict this immune response in scleroderma.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Rheumatology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Scleroderma is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis.
- The role of specific immune responses to extracellular matrix components in scleroderma pathogenesis is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cellular immune response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from scleroderma patients to various collagen types and laminin.
Main Methods:
- PBMC from scleroderma patients and healthy controls were cultured with type I collagen, type IV collagen, intima collagen, laminin, and phytohemagglutinin.
- Lymphocyte transformation assays were used to assess cellular reactivity.
Main Results:
- 47% of scleroderma patients' PBMC showed lymphocyte transformation in response to laminin.
- 12% of patients' PBMC reacted to type IV collagen.
- No PBMC from patients or controls responded to type I or intima collagen or laminin.
Conclusions:
- Some scleroderma patients display a cellular immune response to laminin and, less frequently, to type IV collagen.
- The clinical significance and disease specificity of this immune response remain to be determined.
- No correlation was found between clinical disease parameters and immune response to laminin or type IV collagen.