Human thymus lymphoid tissue (HTL) antigen, complement receptor and rosette formation with sheep erythrocytes of the lymphocytes from primary immunodeficiency diseases.

  • 1 July 1973
    • journal article
    • Vol. 14  (3) , 309-17
Abstract
The presence of human thymus lymphoid tissue (HTL) antigen, which we have proposed as a marker of thymus-derived lymphocytes (T cells) in human beings, complement receptor and rosette formation with sheep erythrocytes were tested on the lymphocytes from various immunodeficiency diseases. It is postulated that both T and B cells are reduced in severe combined immunodeficiency, B but not T cells are defective in infantile X-linked agammaglobulinaemia, and both T and part of B cell populations (IgA producers) are impaired in ataxia telangiectasia. The HTL antigen-positive cells (HTLC) were reduced in two cases of ataxia telangiectasia and a case of severe combined immunodeficiency. HTLC were present in numbers comparable to normal controls in two cases of X-linked agammaglobulinaemia and two cases of isolated IgA deficiency. The number of rosette-forming cells with sheep erythrocytes (RFC) in ataxia telangiectasia were rather higher than controls, which means that rosette formation is not specific to T cells, at least in some situations, although there is some evidence suggesting that it is a property of T cells in normal conditions. The complement receptor lymphocytes (CRL) have been suggested to be B cells in the mouse. However, CRL were present in normal numbers in the cases of X-linked agammaglobulinaemia. This indicates that CRL are not necessarily antibody-forming cells in man.