Lymphocyte transformation in vitro in acute dermatophytosis: a follow-up study

Sixteen patients with recently acquired (= nonchronic) dermatophytosis were studied clinically and immunologically before, during and after treatment for 6 months. The methods applied were lymphocyte transformation in vitro (LTT) and intra-dermal test (IDT). Phytohaemagglutinin, pokeweed mitogen, purified protein derivate (PPD) and water-soluble extracts of Trichophyton (T) rubrum, T. mentagrophytes and Candida albicans were used as stimulators. In the LTT the patients in all four studies showed normal general immune responses. Compared with a control group of 22 healthy persons, lymphocytes of the patients showed significantly stronger stimulation with the T. rubrum extract (0.01 greater than p greater than 0.001) throughout the 6 months. The degree of stimulation after one month (the second study) was significantly stronger (0.05 greater than p greater than 0.01) than in the other studies. The stimulation in the last (fourth) study was the lowest (not significant). IDT showed a majority of delayed-type reactions (47-67%) in patients as compared with 7-13% in the controls, when using dermatophyte antigens. Three patients had an immediate-type reaction or mixed reactions. A correlation was found between the severity of lesions and the degree of stimulation in LTT (p less than 0.02 for T. rubrum, p less than 0.007 for T. mentagrophytes). In contrast, no relationship was found between IDT and clinical symptoms, and there was only a slight tendency toward correspondence between the results of IDT and LTT.