Suppressed Cell-Mediated Immunity in Two Adults With Atopic Dermatitis

Summary.— Tests of immune function over a 12‐month period in a young woman and a young man with life‐long atopic dermatitis showed depressed cell‐mediated immunity (CMI) (delayed‐type skin test unresponsiveness, inability to be sensitized to DNCB, diminished responsiveness of cultured lymphocytes to phytohaemagglutinin, enlarged subcutaneous lymph nodes without any cell‐mediated immunopathology, but with the structure of a node involved in humoral antibody production). Direct immunofluorescence localized IgE in the germinal centres of these subcutaneous lymph nodes. No anti‐immunoglobulin or anti‐C3 complement fluorescent conjugates were localized in their involved or uninvolved skin. Cells corresponding to small‐and medium‐sized lymphocytes in concentrated peripheral leucocyte smears stained with FITC antiserum to human IgE. The woman's lymphocyte transformation suppression improved during a remission and relapsed during an exacerbation of the dermatitis.