PHA-induced lymphocyte transformations in leucocyte cultures from malarious, malnourished and control Gambian children.

The response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to various doses of phytohaemagglutinin was investigated in normal Gambian children, in children with acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and in children with acute protein-calorie malnutrition. Some children in the latter two groups were retested after recovery. Responses of ten out of twenty-five children with malaria were depressed at a low dose of PHA, whereas all but one responded normally at a higher dose. Response to the low dose showed an inverse correlation with the percentage of granulocytes in the culture. Response after recovery from malaria appeared to be slightly enhanced. Only two out of sixteen malnourished children showed slight depression. A third malnourished child who responded normally on initial testing had a depressed response after partial recovery.