Use of an Antiserum Specific for Human T Lymphocytes as a Diagnostic Reagent: Comparison with E Rosette Formation and Mitogenic Response to PHA

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
An antiserum with specificity for human T [thymus-derived] lymphocytes was evaluated as a diagnostic reagent in the clinical immunology laboratory. The antiserum was used in indirect immunofluorescence to detect T cells in blood samples from normal controls and patients with various disorders involving the immune system. The same samples were also examined using 2 established tests for T cells, the rosette reaction with sheep red blood cells (E rosette assay) and the proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The antiserum and the rosette assay detected approximately the same numbers of T cells in controls, but the antiserum indicated T cell deficiency in several patients who appeared normal by rosetting or PHA reactivity. PHA stimulation in autologous plasma was depressed in a further group of patients who had normal T cell numbers by the other 2 tests. In vitro experiments with normal lymphocytes indicated that the E-rosette receptor was distinct from determinants detected by the T cell specific antiserum. The immunofluorescence test with the anti-T cell serum provides an additional assay which seems more sensitive than the other 2 tests in detecting certain cases of T lymphocyte deficiency.