Objective: To evaluate the T helper 1 (T H 1)/T helper 2 (T H 2) lymphocyte cytokine pro®les in women and men and to study the in vitro effects of sex hormones on lymphocyte secretion of cytokines. Methods: Analysis of serum concentration and lymphocyte synthesis of T H 1 (gamma interferon (INF-g) and interleukin 2 (IL-2)) and T H 2 (interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 10 (IL-10)) cytokines was performed in 20 women and 15 men. Analysis of modi®cations in cytokine secretion induced by supplementation of lymphocyte culture with increasing concentrations of sex hormones was carried out. Results: Higher levels of INF-g and IL-2 and lower levels of IL-4 and IL-10 were detected in the phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocyte culture supernatants of men compared with women; the INF-g:IL-4 ratio was signi®cantly higher in men. In women, similar concentrations of all the cytokines were detected in culture supernatants obtained during the follicular and the luteal phases. The addition of sex hormones did not modify the concentration of cytokines in supernatants of phytohemagglutinin-stimulated T-cell cultures.Conclusions: Women present a predominant T H 2 cytokine pro®le, which could be involved in immune responses characterized principally by the secretion of antibodies. This could be a factor implicated in the higher concentration of immunoglobulins or the increased prevalence of autoimmune diseases detected in females.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects a long-acting somatostatin analogue (octreotide) had on the heart function of acromegalic patients. Five patients fulfilling clinical criteria of active acromegaly without symptoms of heart dysfunction, were treated with increased doses of octreotide (300, 600, 900, 1,200 and 1,500 micrograms/daily) over a period of six months. Growth hormone (GH) profiles were carried out during each different dose of octreotide. M-Mode, two dimensional and Doppler echocardiographic evaluation were performed both before and after treatment. Although the GH levels of all patients dropped after each increment of the octreotide, the responses were not homogeneous. Six months after the onset of treatment, echocardiographic studies revealed a significant reduction in the interventricular septum thickness (IVST) (p less than 0.05) and Doppler analyses showed an increase in the early diastolic transmitral flow velocity (p less than 0.05). Our results indicate that octreotide is capable of reversing acromegalic cardiopathy, since it not only reduces GH levels to within normal limits but improves left ventricular hypertrophy and distensibility without modifying contractility.

B lymphocytes that infiltrate the thyroid (Thy-B cells) in Graves' patients appear to be implicated in the pathophysiology of this disorder. The goal of the present study was to examine the nature of these Thy-B cells. To this end, Thy-B lymphocytes were isolated from surgical thyroidal samples, and their phenotype was determined by using mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAb) directed against a wide variety of surface markers, followed by flow cytometry multicolor analysis. The results show that most Thy-B cells (approximately 60%) exhibited IgM(+) IgD(low to -) surface immunoglobulin (Ig) profile, whereas the minor cell fraction (approximately 30%) consisted of switched IgG(+) memory B lymphocytes. Thy-B cells expressed low levels of CD5, CD23, and CD62L, which distinguished them from the resting B-cell pool, the major B-cell subset in the blood. In addition, they lacked CD38, CD10, and CD71, characteristic molecules for the germinal center B lymphocytes. In addition, Thy-B lymphocytes showed peculiar patterns both of adhesion molecules (CD62L(-), CD44(intermediate)), and of activation molecules (CD69(+), CD80(+), and, in part, CD95(+)). Taken together, these results suggest that the Thy-B lymphocyte subset consists of a combination of IgM(+) B cells resembling marginal zone B lymphocytes, and isotype-switched memory B cells.

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These findings indicate that high titers of anti-TPO, but not anti-TSHR antibody, might be associated with intrathyroidal GC development.