Defective macrophage—T-cell interaction in common varied immunodeficiency

Abstract

Macrophage—T-cell interaction (MTI) was studied in 9 patients with common varied immunodeficiency (CVID) and in 23 healthy control individuals. Adherent cells of patients and of controls were pulsed with Escherichia coli and subsequently cultured with autologous T-cell-enriched populations (TCE). The proliferative response of the TCE population was estimated by measuring [ 3H]thymidine incorporation after a 7-day culture period. Mean values in controls were 22,852 dpm ± 3263, in patients 3284 ± 1420. respectively ( P < 0.001). Eight of nine patients showed reduced proliferation on the 7th day, in two patients TCE population proliferated with a different kinetic (peak on the 11th day), while MTI of the remaining six patients stayed low. We suggest that defective MTI may contribute to defective immunoglobulin production in CVID.