Increased Numbers of T Lymphocytes with oyb - positive Antigen Receptors in a Subgroup of Individuals with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis

Individuals with sarcoidosis were evaluated for preferential usage of T cells with the yb-positive (+) type of T cell antigen receptor. Compared with normal subjects (n = 19), the group with sarcoidosis had increased numbers of CD3+ a(3-negative (-) T cells in the blood (normal, 58±12 cells/ls; sarcoid, 192±45 cells/,Ml, P < 0.05) and in the epithelial lining fluid of the lung (normal, 78±14 cells/Ml; sarcoid, 240±60 cells/Ml, P < 0.04) and a concomitant elevated number of blood and lung CD3+ y5+ T cells, owing to a striking increase in the number of CD3+ -y5+ T cells in a subgroup (7 of 20) of sarcoid individuals. The elevated numbers of sarcoid blood y6+ T lymphocytes were mostly Ti'yA+ and 5TCS1-, a pattern also seen in normal individuals, consistent with the majority of yb+ T cells expressing one '-chain variable region, Vy9. The observation of an increase in the total yb+ T cell numbers in a sarcoid subgroup suggests that various specific stimuli may trigger the expansion of different T cell subpopulations within different groups of individuals with sarcoidosis. (J. Clin. Invest. 1990. 85:1353-1361.) sarcoidosis * T cell receptor * lung * lymphocyte