The distribution of immunoregulatory cells in the peripheral blood of normal Malaysian adults.

The distribution of immunoregulatory cells in the peripheral blood of an individual has now been established as an important tool in helping the management of several diseases. It is necessary to set the normal ranges of these cells for the laboratory. We have undertaken in this study to establish the reference ranges for normal Malaysian adults. We found that the mean percentages of T cells, B cells, T Helper cells (CD4), T suppressor cells (CD8), NK cells and the ratio of CD4/CD8 were 70.91%, 11.38%, 38.15%, 37.76%, 17.45%, and 1.00 respectively. There was no significant difference between the sexes. In certain parameters, there was significant differences between Malay, Chinese and Indians. The Chinese and Indians were significantly different in the distribution of B cells and in the CD4/CD8 ratio. In the case of CD4 and NK cells, the Indians were different from the other two groups.