Antigen-specific suppressor cell activity in patients with scleroderma.

Antigen-specific suppressor cell activity (SCA) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was investigated in 22 patients with scleroderma (PSS) and 22 age and sex matched healthy controls. SCA was induced by priming peripheral blood mononuclear cells with high dose antigen (ovalbumin). Antigen-specific SCA was measured by determining the ability of the primed cells to suppress an optimal ovalbumin specific plaque forming cell (PFC) response in an autologous target culture. The in vitro PFC response and suppressor cell activity of the PSS patients was not different from that of the normal controls. Antigen dose-response curves of the priming phase of the assay were similar in both the patient and control groups.