Hyposplenism and T lymphocyte subpopulations in coeliac disease and after splenectomy.

An imbalance in immunoregulatory cells might explain the increase in autoimmune phenomena associated with hyposplenism. Using the monoclonal antibodies OKT3, OKT4 and OKT8 to identify T-lymphocyte subsets, we have studied 19 patients with treated coeliac disease, 9 of whom had hyposplenism, 10 splenectomized subjects, 10 gastrointestinal control patients and 10 normal subjects. There was no significant difference in the proportion of lymphocytes, OKT3+, OKT4+ or OKT8+ cells, nor in the OKT4+/OKT8+ ratio, between any of the patient groups and normal or control subjects. Splenectomized subjects had higher total lymphocyte counts than normals (p less than 0.01). Hyposplenic coeliac patients had higher total lymphocyte counts than other coeliacs (p less than 0.05). Hyposplenic coeliac patients and splenectomized subjects tended to have an increase in the absolute number of OKT8+ cells, which in the latter group was statistically significant (p less than 0.05). We conclude that the increased frequency of autoimmune phenomena associated with hyposplenism due to coeliac disease or after splenectomy is not the result of an altered ratio of OKT4+/OKT8+ cells or a deficiency of OKT8+ cells.