title: Separation of T lymphocytes from normal individuals and patients with B lymphocyte chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia have a diminished response to mitogens which stimulate T cells. Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is most often a disease of accumulating B cells so that T lymphocytes are diluted by large numbers of leukaemic cells. Direct comparison with the responses of normal lymphocytes to mitogenic stimulation is therefore suspect. To circumvent this difficulty, a method of isolating T cells from normal individuals and patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia was developed. Lymphocytes containing an average of 16.1 per cent B cells from normal individuals were applied to IgG-anti-IgG-coated Degalan bead columns and held at 4 degrees for 2 hours. The eluted cells contained less than 2 per cent B cells. When chronic lymphocytic leukaemic lymphocytes, containing an average of 68.6 per cent B cells, were applied to IgG-anti-IgG columns, the eluted cells contained 36.4 per cent B cells. To improve the purification of T lymphocytes, columns of uncoated Degalan beads were used to remove non-specifically adherent cells. Eluted lymphocytes were then applied to IgG-anti-IgG columns. This resulted in the recovery of purified populations of T cells with less than 2 per cent contamination with B cells. Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia were found to have lymphocytes with either a normal density or a low density of surface immunoglobulins. B cells were successfully removed from lymphocyte suspensions in all cases of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia with a normal density of lymphocyte surface immunoglobulins. In the three cases of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia with low density surface immunoglobulins, separation by this method was unsuccessful. However, an enriched T-cell population was obtained when leukaemic lymphocytes which had lost all detectable surface immunoglobulins were passed through a column coated with heat-aggregated IgG.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000276:immunology; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods; D005453:Fluorescence; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007104:Immune Adherence Reaction; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits / Q000276:immunology; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000032:analysis; D012756:Sheep / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell