Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Vol 151, No. 1, 01 1995, 151-156.
T-cell receptor V gene expression in HLA-typed Japanese patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis
J Grunewald, M Shigematsu, S Nagai, T Mikuniya, H Wigzell, T Izumi and AG Eklund
Microbiology and Tumorbiology Center, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
The clinical features of sarcoidosis vary in different ethnic groups,
suggesting that different genetic or environmental backgrounds influence
the disease. In Scandinavian sarcoidosis patients, we have previously
described a correlation between lung-accumulated CD4+ T cells expressing
the T-cell receptor (TCR) V alpha 2.3 gene segment and a particular HLA
type (DR3[17],DQ2). For purposes of comparison, we have in this study
investigated TCR V gene usage and gamma delta TCR expression in CD4+ and
CD8+ T cells in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and peripheral blood in
an ethnically distinct and homogenous group of individuals consisting of
Japanese sarcoidosis patients and healthy controls. We used a panel of 13
monoclonal antibodies (Mab) specific for different TCR V genes, which
altogether stained approximately 50% of the T cells, and triple staining
techniques with flow cytometry. The patients and controls were also
HLA-typed. Our results show a high degree of expression of gamma delta TCR
in peripheral blood T cells of close to half of the patients. Expansions of
T-cell subsets were readily detected in the CD8+ T-cell population, while a
more homogenous staining pattern was found in the CD4+ T-cell population.
These findings show the importance of ethnic origin and environment in
discussions of TCR V gene usage.
