Abstract
Twenty-nine heterosexual patients with hemophilia were investigated with histories, physical examinations, laboratory evaluations of immune function, delayed hypersensitivity skin tests, and assays for antibody to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III). Sixteen patients were HTLV-III antibody positive and 13 were HTLV-III antibody negative. No patient had the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Patients who had antibody to HTLV-III had received significantly more units and lots of factor concentrates in the preceding 5 years than those who did not have antibody. HTLV-III antibody-positive patients had significantly fewer total T cells (Leu-1 positive) and significantly fewer helper T cells (Leu-3 positive) than HTLV-III negative patients. Antibody-positive patients also had increased amounts of IgG and decreased thymidine incorporation in response to concanavalin Ain vitro. There were no differences inin vitro lymphocyte responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA), pokeweed mitogen,Candida, tetanus, or purified protein derivative (PPD), no significant impairments of gamma interferon or interleukin-2 (IL-2) production, and no anergy. Ten patients with antibody to HTLV-III had immunologic studies repeated 1 year after the original evaluation. A significant increase was seen in suppressor (Leu-2-positive) T cells but not in total T-cell or helper T-cell numbers, helper/suppressor ratios, or T-cell functional assays. We conclude that the immune abnormalities in hemophiliacs are the result of contact with HTLV-III but that these abnormalities may remain stable over prolonged periods.
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Horsburgh, C.R., Davis, K.C., Hasiba, U. et al. Altered immunity in hemophilia correlates with the presence of antibody to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III). J Clin Immunol 6, 37–42 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00915362
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00915362