T Cell Subpopulations and IL-2R in Vitiligo

Gunduz K.; Ozturk G.; Terzioglu E.; Sebik F.

T Cell Subpopulations and IL-2R in Vitiligo

Date

2004

Authors

Publisher

Japanese Dermatological Association

Abstract

Immunological alterations have been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of vitiligo. The aim of this study was to determine peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations and interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) in patients with vitiligo. Forty-five vitiligo patients (24 female, 21 male) and 34 healthy controls (11 female, 23 male) were included into the study. Eight (17.8%) of the patients had the segmental type, and 37 (82.2%) had generalized vitiligo. The disease was active in 25 (55.6%) patients; the other 20 (44.4%) patients had static vitiligo. Flow cytometry was used to determine the percentages of total T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes, helper/inducer T cells, suppressor/cytotoxic T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, activated T cells and interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) with the use of CD3, CD19, CD4, CD8, CD16, HLA-DR and CD25 monoclonal antibodies, respectively. The mean value of helper T cells showed a significant difference (p=0.01) between the two groups with the value being 32.5% in patients and 38.1% in control subjects. CD4/CD8 was significantly lower in vitiligo patients (p=0.04). There was also a statistically significant difference in the mean percentage of activated T cells between vitiligo patients and control subjects (4.7 and 8.1, respectively; p=0.001). No statistically significant differences were found when the values were compared between segmental and generalized vitiligo patients, or between active and static cases. In conclusion, T helper/inducer cells, CD4/CD8 ratio and activated (HLA-DR+) T cells are decreased in vitiligo patients, suggesting a role for changes in cellular immunity.