title: Distribution of T and B lymphocytes in lymphoid tissue of infants and children.
abstract: Normal lymphoid tissue from children undergoing elective surgery was examined for T and B lymphocyte distribution. Although established for peripheral blood and bone marrow, T and B lymphocyte distributions have not been previously reported for lymph nodes, appendix, thymus, and spleen tissues in children. Thymus-dependent T cells were determined by the sheep erythrocyte rosette technique, and thymus-independent B cells were determined by the fluorescent labeling of surface immunoglobulins A (IgA), G (IgG), and M (IgM). Fifty percent of lymph node cells were either T or B cells; 65% of these cells were T lymphocytes, whereas 58% of B cells were of the IgM subclass. Less than half of the appendix cells were either T or B cells; 47% of these were T lymphocytes, and the remainder B lymphocytes had subclass distribution similar to that of lymph nodes but different from peripheral blood and bone marrow where B cells bearing IgG predominate. Thymus tissue contained 43% T cells and less than 1% B cells, but the spleen was composed largely of B cells, predominantly of the IgM type. Lymphoid tissue from nine children with either inflammatory or neoplastic diseases were studied and included for contrast. This paper establishes relative distribution values for T and B lymphocytes in normal lymphoid tissue and points out the potential use of this technique to quantitate deviations from normal in certain inflammatory and neoplastic diseases.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001065:Appendix / Q000166:cytology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004751:Enteritis / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006660:Histoplasmosis / Q000473:pathology; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007104:Immune Adherence Reaction; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000032:analysis; D007223:Infant; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000473:pathology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D007136:Immunoglobulins