Khomenko V. Cellular autoimmune reactions to neuroantigens in patients with cerebrovascular pathology who suffered from the accident at the Chornobyl NPP.

A group of 134 Chornobyl victims was studied, including 121 cleanup workers 10-12 years after the exposure and 13 residents of the Chornobyl 30-km exclusion zone. In a group of cleanup workers cerebrovascular pathology was diagnosed in 108, and in 13 - diseases that cause the blood-brain barrier (BBB) abnormalities. A control group consists of 66 healthy people. Immune function changes in patients with cerebrovascular diseases were associated predominantly with T-cell compartment. Activation reactions of lymphocytes to protein S-100 and myelin basic protein (MBP) according to DNA-cytometry and activation of HLA-DR were shown in cleanup workers and residents of the Chornobyl zone in comparison with the control groups and were similar to those in patients with the BBB abnormalities. Activation reactions of HLADR+ lymphocytes to protein S-100 in cleanup workers depend on the radiation doses; a significant increase was demonstrated in patients with higher dosese (from 300 to 940 mSv) in comparison with cleanup workers with irradiation doses less than 300 mSv. In cleanup workers with cerebrovascular pathology a significant increase of activation reactions of HLA-DR+ lymphocytes antigen to S-100 was demonstrated after standard treatment including nootropic and vasoactive preparations. The study shows an important role of the cellular autoimmune reactions to S-100 and MВP in persistence of the cerebrovascular pathology of the late period after radiation exposure.