@article {Brunst279, author = {M Brunst and M Shahmanesh and A Sukthankar and J H Pearce and J S Gaston}, title = {Isolation and characterisation of T lymphocytes from the urethra of patients with acute urethritis.}, volume = {74}, number = {4}, pages = {279--283}, year = {1998}, doi = {10.1136/sti.74.4.279}, publisher = {The Medical Society for the Study of Venereal Disease}, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: To investigate local cellular immune responses in patients with acute urethritis. METHODS: We have established T cell lines from the urethral exudate and examined their phenotype by flow cytometry. As controls, T cell lines were cultured from first pass urine specimens of asymptomatic healthy individuals. RESULTS: Using interleukin 2 (IL-2) alone a T cell line was obtained on only one occasion. Following culture with IL-2, and subsequent expansion by a single stimulation with irradiated allogenic peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), and IL-2, it was possible to establish T cell lines from 6/6 acute urethritis patients. T cell lines were also obtained from 4/12 controls subjects, but required repetitive rounds of stimulation with mitogen and allogeneic PBMC to produce sufficient cell numbers for analysis. Three of the patient T cell lines were dominated by T cells expressing the gamma delta receptor. CONCLUSION: The gamma delta T cell subset has been associated with immune responses at mucosal surfaces and has the ability to recognise certain bacterial antigens. The gamma delta T cell response may represent an important aspect of the immune response to organisms associated with acute urethritis.}, issn = {1368-4973}, URL = {https://sti.bmj.com/content/74/4/279}, eprint = {https://sti.bmj.com/content/74/4/279.full.pdf}, journal = {Sexually Transmitted Infections} }