Tuberculous anergic sera or purified protein derivative treatment induces modification in lymphocyte transformation of cells from patients with tuberculosis.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 20 purified protein derivative (PPD)-reactive (PPD+) tuberculous patients were cultured in autologous, tuberculous anergic, or normal serum. After 12 h of incubation, the serum was eliminated and lymphocyte transformation with PPD was performed. Transformation was inhibited only in cells incubated with anergic serum. In contrast, cells from 11 anergic tuberculous (PPD-) individuals recovered the ability to respond to an optimal PPD dose after treatment with high PPD concentrations followed by several washings. The cells which recovered returned to their initial anergic state when incubated with sera from anergic patients. Under both conditions, incubation with sera did not abolish the response to the mitogen phytohemagglutinin. Cells from healthy PPD+ or PPD- individuals were used as controls. The most important finding derived from serum analysis was the increased levels of specific immunoglobulins G and A in anergic patients.