Culture of Regulatory T‐Cell Lines from Bronchial Mucosa

Abstract

T lymphocytes play a major role in many immune responses. In the last decade, special focus has been on the function of Th1 and Th2 effector cells. Now the importance of regulatory CD4 + CD25 + T cells in maintenance of the immunological homeostasis emerges. Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disorder often affecting the lungs. The typical sarcoid granulomas consists of epitheloid cells, macrophages and lymphocytes, mainly CD4 + T cells of Th1 phenotype. We have cultured T cells from bronchial biopsies of patients with sarcoidosis as well as from controls in high levels of interleukin 2 (IL‐2) and IL‐4 and demonstrate spontaneously arising CD4 + CD25 + populations and high concentrations of IL‐10 in these cultures. The main difference between cultures of sarcoid origin compared to controls is a very much higher concentration of the inflammatory cytokines IL‐6 and TNF‐α in cultures of sarcoid origin.