Macrophage-T suppressor cell interference in the lungs of steroid-treated sarcoidosis patients.

In the bronchoalveolar lavage of sarcoidosis patients the mononuclear cell infiltrate was enumerated on T helper and suppressor lymphocytes as well as macrophages by means of a triple-staining assay on cytospin slides. As was seen on the slides, lymphocytes were often adhered very closely to macrophages. This phenomenon, many times described but not understood, was studied in a group of 13 sarcoidosis patients, of whom 7 received prednisolone treatment. It could be shown that treatment with the corticosteroid was followed by an increase in the percentage of suppressor lymphocytes adhered to macrophages. Second, the number of such alveolar T suppressor lymphocyte-macrophage aggregates was dramatically increased in the prednisolone-treated patients.