HUMAN T LYMPHOCYTE COLONIES IN AGAR: A COMPARISON WITH OTHER T CELL ASSAYS IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS AND CANCER PATIENTS
- 1 February 1976
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Immunology & Cell Biology
- Vol. 54 (1) , 27-34
- https://doi.org/10.1038/icb.1976.3
Abstract
Colonies of human lymphocytes with T cell characteristics will grow in agar from repeated mitotic divisions with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation. The colonies comprise spheres of tightly-packed cells with up to 500–1,000 blast-like cells in each colony. 65% of cells from pooled colonies bound AET-treated sheep red cells. 1,100–2,500 colonies/106 peripheral blood lymphocytes developed when cell donors were healthy but lower numbers (350–1,000 colonies/106 lymphocytes) were detected in blood from cancer patients. Comparison with other non-specific assays of cell-mediated immunity showed that, while 66% of cancer patients were anergic (to five recall antigens) and 78% exhibited depressed mitotic activity in standard cultures with low dose PHA, 100% of these patients revealed T cell colony formation below normal. It is suggested that further studies of T lymphocyte colony-forming cells in healthy people and in a number of disease states may significantly advance our understanding of mechanisms of cell-mediated immunity.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- THE GROWTH OF MOUSE BONE MARROW CELLS IN VITROImmunology & Cell Biology, 1966