Lymphocyte subtypes in patients with atopic eczema, protein calorie malnutrition, SLE and liver disease

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with protein calorie malnutrition, atopic eczema, systemic lupus erythematosus and in three groups of patients with liver disease, were characterized by reactivity with monoclonal antibodies to the surface antigens of helper-inducer (OKT4) and suppressor-cytotoxic (OKT8) T cell subsets and to a common T cell antigen (OKT3). The protein calorie malnutrition group showed a considerable decrease in all subsets while patients with atopic eczema displayed an increase in the total number of OKT3+ cells, attributable primarily to an increase in the OKT4+ cell population with the OKT8+ cells remaining within normal values. In the SLE group, only 3 of the 16 patients had OKT8+ numbers below that of normal controls, whereas the mean number of OKT4+ cells in the group was less than normal controls. The striking feature of patients with liver disease, was the altered ratio of OKT4+ to OKT8+ cells in the hepatocellular carcinoma and amebic liver abscess groups due primarily to decreased OKT4+ and raised OKT8+ cell subpopulations.