title: Cellular immunity to bacteria: impairment of in vitro lymphocyte responses to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients.
abstract: Lymphocyte responses to the mitogens phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A and to Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were evaluated in patients with cystic fibrosis and in normal individuals. Lymphocyte proliferation in vitro was stimulated by gentamicin-killed whole bacteria, and the proliferative response was measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation. The in vitro lymphocyte responses to antibiotic-killed bacterial reached maximum thymidine incorporation after 5 days in culture and followed a unimodal dose-response curve for each of the bacteria studied. A significant specific incapacity to respond to P. aeruginosa was detected in cystic fibrosis patients with advanced clinical disease.
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D003208:Concanavalin A; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000276:immunology*; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000276:immunology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000276:immunology; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D037102:Lectins; D003208:Concanavalin A