ABSTRACT—A fluorescence assay was employed to measure the levels of circulating suppressor/cytotoxic T cells with membrane receptors for histamine (H + T cells) in 33 patients with chronic active hepatitis, in seven patients with metabolic and vascular liver disorders and in 25 healthy individuals. The H + T cells were decreased in patients with CAH (4.6 ± 2.2 cells/mm3vs 16 ± 3.9 cells/mm3; p<0.001), but were normal in patients with metabolic or vascular liver diseases (17.6 ± 6 cells/mm3vs 16 ± 3.9 cells/mm3; NS). Patients with HBsAg‐negative CAH had fewer circulating H + T cells than those with HBsAg‐positive CAH (p<0.05). The same was true for patients with cirrhosis as compared to those without. The lymphocyte alterations were independent of the nature and course of CAH, but correlated inversely with the serum levels of gammaglobulins and with the histological features of hepatic inflammation (p<0.05). Like other sets of lymphocytes, the H + T cells in CAH may have locally either immunomodulatory or cytotoxic effects. In analogy with other immune disorders (histiocytosis X, atopic dermatitis), one might speculate that the alterations in H + T cells in CAH represent derangement of the immunoregulatory cell network. The absence of systemic features of autoimmunity in viral CAH correlates with the demonstration that H + T cells exert their immunoregulatory effects at the sites of inflammation where histamine is being
展开▼
