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Lymphocyte blast transformation responses to mitogens and specific antigens in different clinical phases of multiple
Abstract:
28 MS patients were studied at least 5 times for lymphocyte blast transformation responses to several mitogens (PHA, Con, PWM) and specific antigens (PPD, herpes simplex, measles, mumps, rubella), the mean duration of the follow-up being 15.3 months. Comparison of responses during remissions, exacerbations and ACTH treatment revealed no straight-forward association between the strength of response and clinical disease activity. Mitogen responses did not differ among various disease phases, but the PPD response was significantly lower during exacerbations than during remissions and still lower during ACTH treatment (P less than 0.05, Wilcoxon paired test). In responses to viral antigens, there was the same trend as in the PPD response. However, there were great individual differences in the behaviour of all antigen and mitogen induced lymphocyte responses. As a group, MS patients also showed more changes in their PHA mitogen responses during the follow-up than 8 control subjects followed similarly (P less than 0.005, F-test). The variation coefficient of the PHA response was also correlated with the maximal difference in the Fog neurologic deficit scale during the follow-up time (r = 0.460, P less than 0.05). However, patients with greatest clinical changes most often also received ACTH treatment, which may affect the results. The follow-up results of individual patients revealed that some had quite regular patterns of decreasing responses during disease relapses, whereas others had more irregular wide fluctuations of responses.
Insights
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients show variable lymphocyte responses to mitogens and antigens. While some patterns correlate with disease activity, individual responses fluctuate significantly over time.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Neurology
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system.
- Immune system dysregulation, particularly T-cell function, is implicated in MS pathogenesis.
- Lymphocyte blast transformation assays are used to assess cellular immune responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate longitudinal changes in lymphocyte blast transformation responses in MS patients.
- To correlate immune responses with clinical disease activity (remissions, exacerbations) and treatment (ACTH).
- To compare immune response variability between MS patients and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Studied 28 MS patients with at least 5 follow-up assessments over a mean of 15.3 months.
- Assessed lymphocyte blast transformation responses to mitogens (PHA, Con, PWM) and specific antigens (PPD, viral).
- Compared responses during different clinical disease phases and ACTH treatment using statistical tests (Wilcoxon, F-test).
Main Results:
- No direct association between lymphocyte response strength and clinical disease activity was found.
- Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) responses showed greater variability in MS patients compared to controls.
- Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) and viral antigen responses were lower during exacerbations and ACTH treatment.
- Significant individual differences in immune response patterns were observed among MS patients.
Conclusions:
- Lymphocyte blast transformation responses in MS patients exhibit significant individual variability and can fluctuate with disease activity.
- While some trends suggest suppressed responses during exacerbations and ACTH treatment, a clear correlation with clinical status is complex.
- Further research is needed to understand the prognostic value of these immune response patterns in MS.