The in-vitro action of lymphocytes on autologous colon epithelial cells in ulcerative colitis

Leucocyte function in ulcerative colitis. Quantitative leucocyte mobilisation to skin windows and in vitro function of blood leucocytes

Leucocyte function was evaluated by the in vivo mobilisation to skin windows with chambers and by the chemotactic, phagocytic, and nitro blue tetrazolium reducing capacity of blood leucocytes from 20 patients with ulcerative colitis. The total number of leucocytes mobilised to the chambers after 12 hours did not differ from those in 21 healthy volunteers. After 24 and 48 hours reduced number of leucocytes were mobilised by patients with ulcerative colitis (p less than 0.01). Correspondingly, the leucocyte migration rates were normal initially but were reduced after 18 hours Mobilisation in vivo was positively correlated to the blood neutrophil count (Rho:0.5549 po less than 0.02) but unrelated to clinical activity. Blood leucocytes showed reduced random migration in vitro as well as chemotactic response to casein (p less than 0.01). Serum independent and dependent phagocytosis did not differ from healthy volunteers. Nitro blue tetrazolium reduction by resting leucocytes was increased (p less than 0.01) in ulcerative colitis compared with controls. Our findings suggest altered in vivo mobilisation and in vitro migration of leucocytes in ulcerative colitis with increased spontaneous nitro blue tetrazolium reduction reflecting increased generation of potentially tissue damaging agents. The findings probably reflect changes secondary to the disease but which may be important in maintaining the inflammatory process.

The detection of serological factors in acute ulcerative colitis indicating a favourable short-term prognosis

Large-intestinal epithelial cells were obtained from operation specimens and by biopsy at sigmoidoscopy from 16 patients with acute severe mucosal ulcerative colitis and II control subjects with normal large-bowel mucosa. The ability of lymphocytes to release 51Cr label from large-intestinal epithelial cells was quantitatively assessed as percentage lymphocyte activity. The mean +/- standard deviation of percentage lymphocyte activity in 16 patients with acute ulcerative colitis on admission to hospital (88 +/- 8) was significantly greater than that in II normal subjects (16 +/- 8) (P is less than 0.01). In each study, samples of autologous serum were added to two reactions between lymphocytes and autologous large-intestinal epithelial cells. The results in the seven patients who came to urgent colectomy differed significantly from those in the nine who responded to corticosteroids. The mean +/- S.D. of percentage serological inhibition of lymphocyte activity in the group coming to colectomy was 44 +/- 16, and in those responding to steroids 12 +/- 5. When the serum of these patients was studied for immunofluorescent autoantibodies to normal human colonic mucosa, none of the seven patients treated by colectomy had detectable autoantibodies, in contrast with three of the nine patients with a more favourable short-term prognosis, in that they responded to steroid treatment.