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K Thestrup-Pedersen

Publications and source records attributed to K Thestrup-Pedersen.

227 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Proliferation of T lymphocytes from atopic dermatitis skin is enhanced upon anti-CD3, reduced upon mitogen and superantigen, and negligible upon tuberculin stimulation.

Knowledge about the nature of lymphocytes infiltrating atopic dermatitis skin is restricted to allergen-specific T cells. We investigated the proliferative capacities of T lymphocytes cultured in an antigen-independent way from biopsies of atopic dermatitis skin. When compared with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy donors or atopic dermatitis patients, the skin-homing lymphocytes proliferated more vigorously in response to stimulation with anti-CD3 antibodies (1 microglml), reflecting their high response capacity. When stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (10 microg/ml) or staphylococcal enterotoxin A (0.1 microg/ml) the skin-homing lymphocytes achieved significantly lower proliferation levels than PBMC. In contrast to normal and atopic PBMC the skin-homing lymphocytes did not respond to tuberculin purified protein derivative (10 microg/ml). In the mixed lymphocyte reaction the skin-homing lymphocytes did not stimulate autologous PBMC to proliferate. We conclude that skin-homing lymphocytes have more pronounced immune deviations than PBMC in patients with atopic dermatitis. They represent a valuable approach for further investigating the pathogenesis of the disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cytokine expression of skin T-lymphocytes from patients with atopic dermatitis.

We analysed the cytokine profile of skin T cells by establishing 11 T-cell lines from adult patients with moderate-to-severe atopic eczema using T-cell growth factors interleukin-2 and interleukin-4. We compared T-cell lines from lesional skin of atopic dermatitis patients with those from non-atopic skin of patients with other skin diseases, observing that T-cell lines of patients with atopic dermatitis unstimulated cultures expressed a Th1 profile. After stimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies, the cytokine expression showed rapid initial upregulation of Th2 followed by a Th1 profile. Furthermore, strong upregulation of interleukin-10 was observed after 24 h stimulation. Our findings suggest that skin T-lymphocytes from atopic dermatitis patients seem to consist of a heterogenous population of Th1 and Th2 or Th0 cells and the results for secreted cytokines indicate that T-cell lines from each inflammatory skin disease showed the corresponding disease-specific original cytokine profile.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Treatment of hyperkeratotic dermatitis of the palms (eczema keratoticum) with oral acitretin. A single-blind placebo-controlled study.

Hyperkeratotic dermatitis of the palms--also called eczema keratoticum--is a chronic, sometimes disabling condition in middle-aged persons. We carried out a single-blind, placebo-controlled study using acitretin in 29 patients. Fourteen patients received active therapy (30mg acitretin daily) and 15 placebo. All had hyperkeratotic changes of the palms with painful fissures and most had involvement of the volar aspects of their fingers. Approximately half of the patients had similar plantar changes. A semi-quantitative score of six parameters was used: hyperkeratosis, fissuring, scaling, itch, redness and vesicle count. After 4 weeks of treatment, a 51% reduction of all symptoms was observed among patients receiving acitretin (p < 0.01) compared with a 9% reduction in the placebo group (p>0.05). No further improvement was seen over another 4 weeks of treatment. There were no changes in blood biochemistry, including serum lipids. No patients discontinued therapy because of side effects. We conclude that 30 mg of acitretin is efficacious and safe to use in patients with hyperkeratotic dermatitis of the palms.

Acitretin↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stereological quantification of lymphocytes in skin biopsies from atopic dermatitis patients.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is histologically characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of the skin and quantitative assessment is required. This study introduces stereological techniques to quantify the number of lymphocytes in skin biopsies. Four-millimetre punch biopsies were taken from skin with active eczema in 8 adults with AD and from clinically normal skin from 4 of the patients. Five persons without allergy or skin disease served as controls. The mean number of lymphocytes in 4-mm skin biopsies was 469,000 and 124,000 in active eczema and in clinically normal skin, respectively. Compared with controls, the number of lymphocytes in biopsies increased by a factor of 6.8 in active eczema and a factor of 1.8 in clinically normal skin. If 20% of skin is affected by eczema the total number of lymphocytes located in the affected skin can be estimated to 1.27 x 10(10). A patient with clinically moderate AD has a considerable number of lymphocytes in the skin.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Expression and function of CD43 and CDw60 on T cells from patients with atopic dermatitis.

Signalling via the CD43 and CDw60 epitopes has been reported as providing two novel pathways of T-lymphocyte activation. In Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, which has atopic eczema-like skin symptoms, there is a defective expression of CD43, while CDw60 is strongly expressed on T cells from rheumatoid arthritis synovial fluid and from psoriatic skin lesions, and on blood mononuclear cells from patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. We therefore studied the expression and function of these phenotypes on peripheral blood mononuclear cells and on CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets from patients with atopic dermatitis. We observed a significant increase in the percentage of CD43+ cells among the blood mononuclear cells in patients with atopic dermatitis and an enhanced proliferation of CD4+ T cells following stimulation with anti-CD43 antibody. There were no changes in the CDw60 expression or function after stimulation with anti-CDw60 antibody. Thus, CD43 expression was not decreased but rather increased in blood mononuclear cells from patients with atopic dermatitis, whereas CDw60 expression did not differ from healthy controls.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development and validation of a questionnaire for diagnosing atopic dermatitis.

In this paper we describe the development and validation of a questionnaire for atopic dermatitis used in population surveys in Denmark. The Danish questionnaire was developed from the UK Working Party's questionnaire for atopic dermatitis and includes a severity score. The study included 61 children aged 3 to 14 years recruited from our Department of Dermatology, two kindergartens and a primary school. A validator was appointed to evaluate whether each child had current or previous atopic dermatitis. Compared to the validator's diagnosis, the sensitivity of the UK Working Party criteria was 90% (95% CI; 74-98) and the specificity was 97% (95% CI; 82-99). The criteria for atopic dermatitis have a satisfactory sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing current atopic dermatitis, but the natural course of the disease complicates the validation of investigational instruments. We suggest that future epidemiological studies aimed at establishing new knowledge on atopic dermatitis should include history, current symptoms and findings and a severity score.

Adolescent↗