LYMPHOCYTE SUBSETS OF THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD IN MYASTHENIA GRAVIS DETERMINED BY TWO-COLOR FLOWCYTOMETRY

Lymphocyte subsets of the peripheral blood in 43 patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) were determined by two-color flow cytometry using a number of monoclonal antibodies.In the MG patients without thymectomy (Tx) and prednisolone (PSL) treatment, lymphocyte counts, B-cells, CD4+ cells and their subsets were normal, but numbers of T-cells, CD8+ cells and CD8+ CD 11 −subsets were significantly decreased. Furthermore, proportions of activated cells in T-cells, CD 16+ Leu7–and CD16+ Leu7+ NK subsets were significantly high in the patients. The changes in T-cells, CD8+ cells and activated T-cells were less marked in the MG patients than Sjogren's syndrome (SS) used as a disease control. Contrary to MG patients, lymphocyte counts, CD4+ cells and their subsets were decreased, and the proportions of B-cells were high in SS patients. These results suggest altered immunologic conditions, immunologically active and deficient conditions, in both diseases, although the alterations were more prominent in SS than MG.PSL...