Effect of plasmapheresis on T anc B lymphocyte functions in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a double...

Nine patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus entered a double-blind randomized trial to study the therapeutic effect of vigorous versus sham reinfusion plasmapheresis. Four of them received real plasmapheresis while five received sham reinfusion plasmapheresis. In the present communication we report the effects of these procedures on T lymphocytes in peripheral mononuclear cells, proliferative response to mitogens, allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction and cell-mediated lympholysis, as well as the effect of plasmapheresis on the spontaneous and pokeweed mitogen induced immunoglobulin secreting cells in peripheral blood. Several mononuclear cell functions were abnormal at the beginning of the study but no significant changes related to plasmaphersis occurred in any of the parameters studied.