MONOCYTE-MEDIATED INHIBITION OF LYMPHOCYTE BLASTOGENESIS IN HODGKIN DISEASE

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 52  (2) , 261-271
Abstract
Mononuclear leukocytes isolated from the blood of previously treated patients with advanced active Hodgkin''s disease contained high concentrations of monocytes and showed poor lymphocyte blastogenesis to mitogens. In 5 of 8 patients with disseminted disease, blastogenesis became normal or improved markedly when the leukocyte suspensions were depleted of monocytes before culture. Addition of autologous macrophages to the monocyte-depleted lymphocytes resulted in a reappearance of the inhibition of blastogenesis. Monocyte inhibition was associated with the presence of active disease, lymphocytopenia and low lymphocyte/monocyte ratios in the peripheral blood. The role of previous treatment is uncertain, since inhibition tended to disappear when the patients were retreated. Inhibitory monocyte-lymphocyte interactions may be one of the causes of impaired cell-mediated immunity in Hodgkin''s disease.

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