Abstract
Immunoregulatory status was assessed in 14 children during the acute phase of Kawasaki Disease (KD) and in 6 of these children following recovery. T cell subsets were enumerated using monoclonal antibodies which define antigens on peripheral T cells (T3), helper/inducer T cells (T4), and suppressor/cytotoxic T cells (T8). Patients with acute KD had a significant reduction of circulating T8+ cells (11 ± 4% vs. 22 ± 4% for normal controls; p<0.001) but not of T3+ or T4+ cells. The number of circulating lymphocytes engaged in the spontaneous secretion of IgG and IgM was assessed using a reverse hemolytic plaque forming cell (PFC) assay. KD patients had significantly elevated number of spontaneous IgG-PFC (6523 ± 7164 PFC per 106 cells vs. 2.2 ± 4 PFC per 106 cells for normal controls; p<0.01) and IgM-PFC (2515 ± 1752 PFC per 106 cells vs. 22 ± 21 PFC per 106 cells for normal controls; p<0.001). Finally, the cytotoxicity of mononuclear cells against Cr-51 labeled normal human skin fibroblasts was determined. Patients with KD exhibited significantly greater cytotoxicity (20.5 ± 15.6% Cr-51 release) than normal controls (10.2 ± 1.1% Cr-51 release; p<0.025). In 6 patients studied 6 to 8 weeks after resolution of their clinical symptoms, each of the above abnormalities had either completely or partially resolved.
The above immunoregulatory abnormalities observed in the acute phase of KD may play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease.
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Geha, R., Siegel, L., Krensky, A. et al. 916 IMMUNOREGULATORY ABNORMALITIES IN KAWASAKI DISEASE. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 595 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00941
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00941