CD4 T lymphocytes from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have decreased interferon-γ production and increased sensitivity to dexamethasone

Autor: Jeroen Visser, B. Hinloopen, Emile Brommer, Lex Nagelkerken, Bep Blauw, E. Ronald de Kloet, Cornelis Kluft
Přispěvatelé: TNO Preventie en Gezondheid
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 1998
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2, 177, 451-454
Scopus-Elsevier
Popis: A disturbed hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal gland axis and alterations at the immune system level have been observed in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Glucocorticoids are known to modulate T cell responses; therefore, purified CD4 T cells from CFS patients were studied to determine whether they have an altered sensitivity to dexamethasone (DEX). CD4 T cells from CFS patients produced less interferon-gamma than did cells from controls; by contrast, interleukin-4 production and cell proliferation were comparable. With CD4 T cells from CFS patients (compared with cells from controls), a 10- to 20-fold lower DEX concentration was needed to achieve 50% inhibition of interleukin-4 production and proliferation, indicating an increased sensitivity to DEX in CFS patients. Surprisingly, interferon-gamma production in patients and controls was equally sensitive to DEX. A differential sensitivity of cytokines or CD4 T cell subsets to glucocorticoids might explain an altered immunologic function in CFS patients.
Databáze: OpenAIRE