Preliminary evidence for the trapping of antigen-specific lymphocytes in the lymphoid tissue of 'anergic' tuberculosis patients.

Lymphocyte-transformation responses to mycobacterial antigens have been studied, using paired blood and lymph node samples from 'normal' Ugandans, (hernia repairs or orthopaedic cases) or from patients with tuberculosis, Mycobacterium ulcerans infection, or injection abscesses. The results suggest that in some individuals, antigen reactive cells, although absent from the periphery, may be demonstrable in the lymph nodes. This phenomenon is most striking in skin-test negative tuberculosis patients.