Numerical and functional deficiency of suppressor T cells precedes development of atopic eczema.

Immunoregulatory T cells were studied quantitatively and functionally at age 1-2 months in 30 symptom-free infants with family history of atopic disease and in 30 infants with no such history. The infants were followed up for 24-37 months (mean 28.2 months) to see whether clinical atopic disease was expressed. In infants in whom atopic eczema subsequently developed, numbers of T8-positive cells were reduced, the T4/T8 ratio was raised, and functional suppressor activity was lower than normal. These findings indicate that a defect of T-cell regulation precedes clinical atopic disease and is of primary pathogenetic importance.