The instructor cell for the human procoagulant monocyte response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide is a Leu-3a+ T cell by fluorescence-activated cell sorting.

A variety of responses of cells of the lymphoid system are associated with acquisition of the capacity to initiate the coagulation protease pathways. The initiating or procoagulant molecules are produced by the monocyte; however, a number of studies have indicated that lymphocyte collaboration is required. The induction of human monocyte procoagulant activity (PCA) by the model stimulus bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was examined in the present study by using relatively highly purified monocyte and lymphocyte populations in reconstitution experiments. Consistent with prior studies, the PCA response could not be generated by highly purified monocytes alone after exposure to LPS. The ability to generate PCA was restored to these monocyte populations by the addition of fibronectin-gelatin nonadherent lymphocytes, nylon wool effluent T cells, or Leu-3a+ inducer/helper T cells selected by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. T cells added to monocytes at a ratio of 8:1 or higher, and Leu-3a+ cells added at a ratio of 6:1 or higher, provided a maximal collaboration for monocyte PCA induction by LPS. These results substantiate further previous suggestions of an absolute requirement for collaborating T cells and demonstrate that these instructor cells carry a marker for the inducer/helper subset.