LYMPHOCYTE-T FUNCTION IN HAIRY-CELL LEUKEMIA

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 42  (2) , 336-344
Abstract
The high incidence of infections characteristic of impaired cell-mediated immunity in patients with hairy cell leukemia led to the study of T lymphocyte function in 16 patients with the lymphocyte transformation test. All patients showed impaired responses to mitogens [phytohemagglutinin, pokeweed mitogen, concanavalin A], attributable to 1 or more of the following causes: dilution of responsive T cells by inert hairy cells, shortage of monocytes to give adequate interaction with the T cells, and a significant decrease in the number of T cells with Fc.mu. receptors proportional to the percentage of hairy cells in the peripheral blood. The response to antigens was severely depressed; PPD [purified protein derivative] was one of the few antigens that induced positive reactions in 1/2 the cases. In patients with hairy cell leukemia, T lymphocyte function, as tested in a proliferative assay, apparently is severely impaired; this may contribute to the deficient resistance to infection.