Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Polycythaemia and Thrombocythaemia

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Abstract
Lymphocyte subpopulations from peripheral blood of normal subjects and patients with primary proliferative polycythemia (PPP), idiopathic erythrocytosis (IE) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) were separated using antihuman Ig antiserum for B lymphocytes and the following monoclonal antibodies: OKT3, directed against the general T-lymphocyte subpopulation, OKT4 and OKT8, detecting respectively T-helper and T-suppressor lymphocyte subpopulations, OKM1 reacting mainly with monocytes. A decrease in the number of OKT3+ cells was observed both in PPP and IE, with a particular fall of the OKT8+ (suppressor) cells, so that the T4/T8 ratio was significantly increased (P < 0.03 in PPP and P < 0.0005 in IE). The ratio remained normal in samples from ET. OKM1+ cells were significantly increased in PPP (P < 0.04), but not in IE, while in ET there was a rise in a few cases only. Some definite changes in the circulating lymphomonocytic cell subsets, which may be of interest in the study of this group of myeloproliferative disorders, are pointed out.