The activation of T cells with Staphylococcus aureus Cowan 1 (SAC).

We reported our findings on the activation and functional capacity of human T cells stimulated by Staphylococcus aureus Cowan 1 (SAC). Serial determinations of surface markers on T cells stimulated by SAC showed that OKT4+ T cells remained relatively constant with the decrease of OKT8+ T cells and that Tac antigen was predominantly expressed on OKT4+ T cells. When the mixture of OKT4+-depleted T cells and OKT8+-depleted PBL was stimulated with SAC or PWM, PWM-stimulated OKT4+-depleted T cells suppressed immunoglobulin production by OKT8+-depleted PBL in a dose-dependent fashion, but SAC-stimulated OKT4+-depleted T cells did not show suppressive activity.