Lymphocyte activation: changes in intracellular adenosine triphosphate and deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis.

Stimulation of human lymphocytes from 20 individuals with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) for 60 min resulted in a fall in intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) of 35% compared to unstimulated controls of 19% (p less than 0.001). There was a significant (p less than 0.01) correlation (r = 0.57) between ATP decrease at 60 min and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis at 72 h in PHA-stimulated cells. The technique described here is simple, rapid and has possible application in immunodiagnosis and immunologic monitoring.