The effect ofin vitro irradiation on mitogenic responsiveness of peripheral blood lymphocytes from untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease

Abstract
Peripheral blood lymphocytes from six untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease were exposed to various doses of ionizing radiation in vitro and thereafter tested for reactivity to PHA and ConA using DNA synthesis as a marker of viability. While the responsiveness of Hodgkin's disease lymphocytes was abolished by moderate radiation doses, the proliferative activity of healthy controls' lymphocytes was reduced in a biphasic fashion suggesting the presence of one relatively radiation-sensitive and one relatively resistant cell population.