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T cells from paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) patients show an altered CD40-dependent pathway.

Terrazzano G, Sica M, Becchimanzi C, Costantini S, Rotoli B, Zappacosta S, Alfinito F, Ruggiero G

Cattedra de Immunologia, Dipartimento de Biologia e Pathologia Cellulare e Molecolare, Naples, Italy.

Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) is a haematopoiesis disorder characterized by the expansion of a stem cell bearing a somatic mutation in the phosphatidylinositol glycan-A (PIG-A) gene, which is involved in the biosynthesis of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. A number of data suggest the inability of the PIG-A mutation to account alone for the clonal dominance of the GPI-defective clone and for the development of PNH. In this context, additional immune-mediated mechanisms have been hypothesized. We focused on the analysis of T lymphocytes in three PNH patients bearing a mixed GPI(+) and GPI(-) T cell population and showing a marked cytopenia. To analyze the biological mechanisms underlying the control of T cell homeostasis in PNH, we addressed the study of CD40-dependent pathways, suggested to be of crucial relevance for the control of autoreactive T cell clones. Our data revealed significant, functional alterations in GPI(+) and GPI(-) T cell compartments. In the GPI(-) T cells, severe defects in T cell receptor-dependent proliferation, interferon-gamma production, CD25, CD54, and human leukocyte antigen-DR surface expression were observed. By contrast, GPI(+) T lymphocytes showed a significant increase of all these parameters, and the analysis of CD40-dependent pathways revealed a functional persistence of CD154 expression on the CD48(+)CD4(+) lymphocytes. The alterations of the GPI(+) T cell subset could be involved in the biological mechanisms underlying PNH pathogenesis.

Published 4 July 2005 in J Leukoc Biol, 78(1): 27-36.
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