BERLIN — Clonal T cell populations may play a key role in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis.
Expanded populations of clonal T cells were detected by high-resolution capillary electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction in the peripheral blood of 61% of 126 patients with systemic sclerosis, Dr. Alexander Kreuter reported at the annual congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.
Expanded clonal T cells were particularly common in the setting of limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis: They were detected using high-resolution capillary electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction testing in 48 of 65 (74%) of affected patients, in contrast to 29 of 61 patients (48%) with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis, said Dr. Kreuter, a dermatologist at Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany.
The likelihood that these circulating clonal T-cell populations are involved in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis is enhanced by the finding that a clonal T-cell population was detected in the peripheral circulation of only 4 of 29 (14%) of healthy controls, he added. Twenty of 44 systemic sclerosis patients (46%) had clonal T-cell populations in lesional skin specimens. The presence of lesional clonal T cells was unrelated to the presence or absence of circulating clonal T cells.
The presence of clonal T-cell populations in the peripheral circulation was unrelated to sex, disease duration, extent of skin involvement, digital ulcers, organ involvement, autoantibody profile, or the form of treatment employed.
Disclosures: Dr. Kreuter reported no financial conflicts.