title: Lymphocyte subpopulations, activation phenotypes, and spontaneous proliferation in tuberculous pleural effusions.
abstract: The state of lymphocyte activation in tuberculous pleural effusions was studied. The proportion of cells at and beyond the G1 phase of the cell cycle displaying interleukin-2 receptor, transferrin receptor or gp 40/80 glycoprotein in avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) staining was 6 +/- 2 percent, 8 +/- 3 percent, and 14 +/- 4 percent of all pleural fluid mononuclear cells, respectively. These findings imply that only a fraction of pleural fluid lymphocytes is activated in tuberculosis. The proportion of autoradiographically visualized 3H-thymidine incorporating blasts at the S phase of the cell cycle was 1.2 +/- 0.3 percent. This phenomenon further confirms the impression that, in spite of activation, most of the pleural fluid mononuclear cells are resting cells. The T4/T8 ratio in the functionally active blast cell population determined by a double labeling method combining ABC staining with autoradiography was similar to the total T4/T8 ratio (2.3 +/- 0.7 vs 2.7 +/- 0.8, p greater than 0.05) calculated for all pleural fluid mononuclear cells.
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*