BLASTOGENIC RESPONSES OF LYMPHOCYTES FROM PATIENTS WITH UNTREATED AND TREATED LYMPHOMAS

Abstract

Small lymphocytes play a central role in mammalian immune responses (1). These cells proliferate in lymphoid tissues, a proportion are long lived (2) and recirculate from lymphoid tissues through lymphatic channels to peripheral blood, and back through the lymphoid tissues (3). These cells participate in delayed hypersensitivity, homograft and graft versus host responses and may be the effector cells of these reactions (1). They are the immunological memory cells and both specific immunological reactions and tolerance can be transferred with them from one animal to another (1). 

An effective method for study of human peripheral blood lymphocytes is to culture them with mitogenic agents such as the red kidney bean extract phytohemagglutinin (PHA) (4). This substance induces the majority of peripheral blood lymphocytes from normal subjects to enlarge into easily recognizable lymphoblastoid cells. This response has been used as a measure of the functional normality of lymphocytes although it does not necessarily reflect their ability to respond immunologically (5).

Patients with Hodgkin's disease have an immunological deficiency characterized by development of impaired delayed hypersensitivity (possibly early in the course of their disease) and a variably associated inability to mount a primary antibody response (6). This immunological deficiency has recently been correlated with a failure of untreated patients' lymphocytes to respond normally to PHA and other stimulation (7, 8, 9). The current study was designed to further evaluate in vitro lymphocyte responses in Hodgkin's disease and other lymphomas. The cells of treated patients were compared with those of untreated patients and normal controls. It was hypothesized that differences in responsiveness between treated and untreated patients' lymphocytes might provide a clue to understanding the nature of the immunological deficiency in lymphoma.