In vitro Reactivities of Blood Lymphocytes from Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Pigeon Breeders to Antigen and Mitogens

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Abstract
The proliferation of blood lymphocytes in response to pigeon gammaglobulin in the presence or absence of IL2 was measured in 9 symptomatic and 12 asymptomatic pigeon breeders and 24 controls. The symptomatic breeders exhibited spontaneous lymphocyte proliferation (p < 0.001) when compared with controls whilst lymphocytes from asymptomatic breeders required the simultaneous addition of IL2 in order to proliferate (p < 0.001). IL2 alone did not induce cellular proliferation. Both patient groups had abnormal T-cell functions and response to lectins and, in the symptomatic group, there existed an inverse correlation (r = ––0.70, p < 0.001) between specific antibody titres to pigeon gammaglobulin and the Con A response. We conclude that both patient groups have circulating, presensitized antigen-specific lymphocytes but these require different stimulatory signals at the cellular level.