Immunoregulatory T‐cells and lymphocytotoxic antibodies in active multiple sclerosis: Weekly analysis over a six‐month period

Abstract

Immunoregulatory T‐cell subsets were measured at weekly intervals over a 4 to 6 month period using monoclonal antibodies (anti‐T4 = inducer cell; anti‐T8 = suppressor/cytotoxic cell) in a group of 6 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and in 4 age‐ and sex‐matched controls. Decreases in the T8 subset and increases in the T4: T8 ratio were present in 4 of the patients with MS but not in controls. Two patients who were neurologically stable during the study period had no changes in the T4: T8 ratio; 2 patients with intermediate disease activity of the relapsing‐remitting type had elevated ratios on 3 and 4 occasions respectively; the patient with the most clinically active MS had an abnormal ratio 12 of 27 times. One patient with chronic‐progressive MS had an elevated ratio on each occasion tested. No abnormalities in T‐cell subsets were present in any of the controls. On three occasions an elevated T4:T8 ratio appeared to precede an acute relapse by 1.5 to 7 days. Lymphocytotoxic antibodies (LCA) against whole lymphocytes or against isolated T‐cell subsets were measured in these patients and in a larger group of MS patients, and were not found to correlate with changes in T‐cell subsets. This report extends previous findings linking changes in T‐cell subsets to disease activity in patients with MS.