Fas/Apo-1 (CD95) Antigen Expression on the Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes in Healthy Donors and Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients.

As well as the proliferation of antigen-specific T and B cells the programmed cell death (apoptosis) of lymphocytes is one of the key mechanisms of the immune homeostasis regulation. The apoptosis of immunocytes is associated with the expression of Fas/Apo-1 (CD95) glycoprotein. The expression of Fas/Apo-1 (CD95) on the peripheral blood lymphocytes from 45 healthy donors and 45 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was studied. The percentage of CD95(+) lymphocytes of the healthy donors was 40.1 +/- 10.9, significant correlation of this parameter with the percentage of CD3(+) and CD4(+) lymphocytes was observed. In patients with pulmonary tuberculosis the percentage of CD95(+) lymphocytes was 47.0 +/- 15.9. In this case the correlations between the percentage of CD95(+) lymphocytes, CD72(+) B cells, CD25(+) lymphocytes and HLA DR(+) cells and serum IgA level were observed. Using the procedure of cluster analysis it was shown that extremal number of the CD95(+) lymphocytes is typical for the patients with the prognostically unfavorable immune abnormalities and clinic picture, high levels of serum TNFalpha and hypercortisolemia. It is tempting to speculate that apoptosis of T cells (possibly Th1 cells) is of great importance in the pathogenesis of the immunodeficiency associated with the micobacteriosis.