Impaired lymphocyte function in aged humans.

The response of lymphocytes from young and old persons to phytohemagglutinin, pokeweed mitogen, or allogeneic lymphocytes has been measured. Lymphocytes from old persons incorporated significantly less tritiated thymidine as compared with lymphocytes from young persons when cultured with plant mitogens or allogeneic cells. The difference in observed lymphocyte reactivity could not be attributed to differences in culture conditions required for maximal transformation of lymphocytes from old or young subjects. The same percentage of thymus-derived and bone marrow-derived lymphocytes was found in the blood from old and young persons. The relationship of these findings to the decline of immunologic competence with age is discussed.