Use of an antiserum specific for human T lymphocytes as a diagnostic reagent: comparison with E rosette formation and mitogenic response to PHA

Br J Haematol. 1978 Aug;39(4):607-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1978.tb03631.x.

Abstract

An antiserum with specificity for human T 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 two established tests for T cells, the rosette reaction with sheep red blood cells (E rosette assay) and the proliferative response to phytohaemagglutinin (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 two 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 serum provides an additional assay which appears to be more sensitive than the other two tests in detecting certain cases of T lymphocyte deficiency.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Antibody Specificity
  • Antilymphocyte Serum*
  • Humans
  • Immune System Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Leukocyte Count
  • Lymphocyte Activation
  • Phytohemagglutinins / pharmacology
  • Rosette Formation
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*

Substances

  • Antilymphocyte Serum
  • Phytohemagglutinins