Correlation of blood lymphocyte CTLA-4 (CD152) induction in Hodgkin's disease with proliferative activity, interleukin 2 and interferon-gamma production.

Expression of the downregulatory CTLA-4 molecule was determined on unstimulated and anti-CD3 + recombinant interleukin 2 (rIL-2)-stimulated peripheral blood T cells in Hodgkin's disease (HD) and correlated with the T-cells' proliferative activity, IL-2 and interferon (IFN)-gamma production. There was a negligible percentage of CTLA-4+/CD3+ cells before culture. The mean percentage of CTLA-4+/CD3+ lymphocytes increased gradually, peaked after 72 h of stimulation and returned to basal values after 96 h of stimulation. The mean proportion of CTLA-4+/CD3+ cells from untreated patients was significantly higher after 24, 48 and 72 h of stimulation compared with controls. The mean percentage of CTLA-4+/CD3+ cells from patients in clinical remission (CR) was lower than that of untreated patients, but remained significantly higher compared with controls. Lymphocytes from untreated HD patients showed impaired proliferative activity, IL-2 and IFN-gamma production compared with controls. The proliferative activity of the lymphocytes, IL-2 and IFN-gamma production remained significantly lower in CR compared with controls. The proportion of CTLA-4+/CD3+ cells negatively correlated with proliferative activity, IL-2 and IFN-gamma production in HD patients and controls. However, some untreated patients as well as patients in CR with normal mean fluorescence intensity values of CTLA-4 showed unimpaired T-cell function tests. Our study provides the first evidence of an increased expression of downregulatory CTLA-4 molecule on stimulated T-cells in HD, which could be one of the mechanisms of immune deficiency in this disease.