Lymphocyte responses in juvenile chronic arthritis and Behçet's disease--cell number requirements and effects of glucocorticosteroid therapy
de Vere-Tyndall, A.; Knight, S.; Burman, S.; Denman, A.M.; Ansell, B.M.
Clinical and Experimental Immunology 50(3): 549-554
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0009-9104 PMID: 7165998 Document Number: 192357
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with clinically active Behcet's disease or juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) gave high responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in vitro prior to prednisolone therapy and low responses when taking prednisolone in comparison with cells from control individuals. Such effects were not significantly different at the 6 concentrations of cells or the 4 times in culture studied. Differences from controls were also seen with cells from clinically controlled, prednisolone treated Behcet's patients; the cells responded better than controls at low cell concentrations and early times in culture, the reverse occurring at higher concentrations and later times. This pattern of response suggests the presence of a higher than normal proportion of responsive cells in these patients. Not only is a still wider range of culture conditions required to assess fully the differences in lymphocyte function related to disease activity and prednisolone treatment in JCA or Behcet's, but the use of a narrow set of optimized conditions may be misleading.