Human cell-mediated immune responses to chlamydial antigens.

A reproducible method was developed to determine the ability of chlamydial antigens to stimulate lymphocytes from volunteers. In tests repeated 4 to 14 times, the cells from a given volunteer gave a relatively narrow range of responses, but there were great differences in the mean response of different volunteers. In the entire group of 52 volunteers, lymphocyte stimulation was significantly associated with the presence of antibody, but in a given individual results of one test did not aid in predicting the results of the other. A majority of persons with either antichlamydial antibody or elevated lymphocyte stimulation, or both, did not have a history of signs or symptoms within a spectrum of chlamydial diseases. This may reflect the great frequency of asymptomatic infection with these organisms. The lymphocytes of some individuals were stimulated to a significantly greater degree by antigens of one chlamydial species (Chlamydia trachomatis or C. psittaci) than by the other. These and other cell-mediated reactions in human chlamydial infections, and their possible medical significance, are under continued study.