Properties of lymphocytes in chronic HBAg-positive hepatitis. An approach to pathogenetic problems.

Lymphocytes from 22 children affected by chronic hepatitis were studied and a comparison was made with a control group of 32 healthy children in the same age range with respect to PHA dose-response curves. E-rosette formation and membrane immunoglobulin (Ig). From the results it appeared that PHA dose-response curves were displaced to the left (low PHA dose), DNA synthesis was significantly higher for all PHA dosages tested, and that the plasma of chronic hepatitis patients acted neither as inhibitor nor stimulator. The percentage of E-rosette-forming cells decreased, but the total number was normal. The mean percentage of Ig-bearing cells was normal but the single values were spaced over a wide range. It can be assumed that, at least in the chronic stage, there is an enhanced response to PHA and an increased percentage of cells without markers either for T or for B cells.