39 JEJUNAL LYMPHOCYTES IN COELIAC DISEASE BEFORE AND AFTER ORGAN CULTURE

Subsets of lymphocytes of jejunal mucosa from children with active coeliac disease were measured before and after 24 hs organ culture to determine whether a normalization of the lymphocyte population will occur together with the restitution of epithelial cell morphology. Methods: Organ culture of intestinal mucosa was performed according to Browning and Trier (J Clin Invest 48:1423, 1969). Lymphocyte subsets were counted on frozen sections using antibody technique with commercial monoclonal antibodies (Decton&Dickinson). Results: Intraepithelially, CD8 positive lymphocytes dominated and this subset of cells decreased during culture from 50 to 37 per 100 epithelial cells (mean values). All biopsies with intraepithelial CDB positive lymphocytes exceeding 40 per 100 epithelial cells showed a marked decrease. In the lamina propria CD4 positive lymphocytes were more prevalent and during culture the ratio CD4 positive to CD8 positive lymphocytes increased from 1.1 to 1.3. Thus during 24 hs culture the antigen expression of the lymphocytes alters towards that of lymphocytes in restituted mucosa. Gluten added to the culture medium inhibited this partial normalization. Conclusion: The change of the lymphocyte population during organ culture of jejunal mucosa mimics that seen in vivo in coeliac disease during restitution. The technique should be of value in the study of immunological mechanisms in this disease.