Impairment of T lymphocyte colony formation in Hodgkin's disease: effect of soluble inhibitory factors on normal T lymphocyte colony formation potential.

PHA-induced T lymphocyte colonies from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of untreated Hodgkin's disease (HD) patients and normal healthy donors were assayed by one-step stimulation in microagar capillary cultures. A significant depression in the T cell colony formation was observed in HD patients in comparison with normal healthy donors. Clinical staging of the disease had no influence on this abnormality. Preincubation of HD lymphocytes for 24 h in tissue culture medium did not produce any appreciable recovery in the colony formation potential. However, in the presence of 24-hour culture supernatants of HD mononuclear cells, there was significant inhibition in the colony formation by lymphocytes obtained from normal healthy donors. Significance of these observations is discussed.