Functional analysis of monkey lymphocyte subsets defined by OKT4 and OKT8 Monoclonal Antibodies.

The percentages of rhesus monkey blood lymphocytes (PBL) reactive with OKT4 and OKT8 antibodies and the OKT4/OKT8 ratio showed significant correlations with the log of the immunoglobulin plaque-forming cell (PFC) response after stimulation with pokeweed mitogen (PWM). These correlations suggested that monkey OKT4+ cells function as "helper" cells and OKT8+ cells function as "suppressor" cells for the PFC response. This was confirmed by separation and study of enriched T- and B-cell subpopulations. OKT8-depleted (OKT4+) and OKT4-depleted (OKT8+) cells were obtained by treatment of purified T cells with antibody and complement. OKT4+ cells augmented the PWM-induced B-cell differentiation into PFC but OKT8+ cells did not. OKT8+ cells suppressed the PFC response by mixtures of B cells and OKT4+ cells. OKT8 antibodies also detected a suppressive cell subset in African green monkeys since the percentage of OKT8+ cells showed a negative correlation with the log PFC response. OKT4 antibodies failed to bind to African green monkey PBL.