T and B lymphocytes in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.
Counts of T and B lymphocytes were made in the peripheral blood from patients with active and inactive pulmonary tuberculosis and in healthy subjects. In patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis the numbers of T cells were significantly lower than in the controls. After treatment for two months, if the patient's condition improved the percentage of T cells returned to nearly normal levels. If the patient failed to improve, the numbers of T cells remained low. The mechanism of these phenomena is discussed.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001402:B-Lymphocytes; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes; D013997:Time Factors; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology*