Etiological study of oral disease in HIV and HTLV-I positive patients-characteristics of salivary gland cells-

全唾液流率测量显示，HIV或HTLV-I感染患者唾液腺功能经常受损。在这些患者中观察到的唾液腺功能障碍在临床上类似于自身免疫性疾病之一，干燥综合征。为了阐明干燥综合征与HTLV-I的病因病理联系，我们首先检测了HTLV-I前病毒DNA在患者唾液腺中的定位。提示HTLV-I感染的T细胞聚集在唾液腺中，并参与了唾液腺功能障碍的诱导。唾液腺中检测到的细胞因子主要是Th1型细胞因子IL-2和γ阳性T细胞产生的干扰素。此外，对唾液腺中T细胞受体C基因使用情况的检测显示，表达独特T细胞受体的T细胞聚集在唾液腺中。这些T细胞在干燥综合征患者中普遍存在。这些结果强烈地表明，自身反应性T细胞可能被病毒感染并被病毒激活，从而引发这种类型的自身免疫性疾病。用路径钳方法，我们在大鼠唾液腺泡细胞中发现了一种钙依赖性和电压依赖性的钾通道。这份报告是世界上第一份报告。

Measurement of whole salivary flow rate revealed that function of salivary gland is frequently impaired in HIV- or HTLV-I-infected patients. The salivary gland dysfunction observed in these patients was clinically similar to one of autoimmune disease, Sjogren's syndrome. To clarify the etiopathological association of Sjogren's syndrome with HTLV-I, we first of all examined the localization of HTLV-I proviral DNA in the salivary gland of the patients. The results suggested HTLV-I infected T cells accumulate in the salivary glands and are involved in the induction of the salivary gland dysfunction. Cytokines detected in the salivary glands was mainly Th1 cytokines IL-2 and IFNγ produced by CD4-positive T cells. Furthermore, examination of the T cell receptor C gene usage in the salivary glands revealed that T cells expressing unique T cell receptors are accumulated in the salivary glands. These T cells were commonly present in patients with Sjogren's syndrome. These results strongly suggest that a self-reactive T cells could be infected with the virus, activated by the virus, and thereafter induce this type of autoimmune disease. Using a path-clamp method, we found, in rat salivary acinar cells, a K^+ channels which was Ca^<2+>-dependent and voltage-dependent. This report is the first report in the world.