Lymphoid subpopulations of peripheral blood and spleen in untreated Hodgkin's disease.

A panel of monoclonal antibodies with well-defined specificities were used as probes to investigate the phenotypes and lineage of circulating lymphoid cells and splenocytes in untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease. A significant relative and absolute reduction in T cells (anti-T3+) was found only in patients with B-symptoms. There was no alteration in the fraction of helper (anti-T4+) or cytotoxic/suppressor (anti-T5+) T cells circulating in peripheral blood when compared to normals, nor was there activation of these cells as measured by the development of surface Ia (anti-I1+). Circulating T cell subsets were not altered 5 to 14 days after splenectomy. Splenic T cells were increased equally in involved and uninvolved spleen when compared with control spleens obtained from accident victims. These findings indicate that abnormal T cell function in Hodgkin's disease may be the result of subtle alterations in T cells or non-T immunoregulatory mechanisms.