Higher proliferative capacity of T lymphocytes from patients with Crohn disease than from ulcerative colitis is disclosed by use of Herpesvirus saimiri-transformed T-cell lines

Background: T lymphocytes play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. Achieving stable T-cell lines, rather than continuous bleeding of patients, is desirable in order to dissect their implication in the disease. Methods: Long-lasting T-cell lines from patients with Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis and from healthy volunteers have been obtained by transformation of T lymphocytes using the lymphotropic Herpesvirus saimiri. Lines were subjected to phenotypic and functional analyses, and the results compared with freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Results: Fresh cells revealed only minor differences between patients and controls, with regard to phenotype and proliferative capacity. In contrast, the use of T-cell lines showed that cells from Crohn disease patients, but not ulcerative colitis patients, over-responded to several membrane or cytoplasmic stimuli when compared to control T-cell lines. Thus, higher responses were found when stimulated with αCD3 and I...