Blood and lymph node T-lymphocyte subsets in non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

Blood and lymph node T-lymphocyte subpopulations have been studied in untreated non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients and healthy controls. T-lymphocytes were determined by the E-rosette technique and by OKT3/LEU4 monoclonal antibodies; OKT4/LEU3 and OKT8/LEU2 monoclonal antibodies were used to identify T-cell subsets with helper/inducer and suppressor/cytotoxic activity, respectively. OKT4+ T-cells were low in patients, while OKT8+ T-cell numbers were normal. The OKT4+/OKT8+ blood lymphocyte ratio was below the normal range in about 50% of the patients. The ratio was higher in lymph nodes than in blood of patients and controls. The results may suggest that untreated NHL patients have a reduced pool of T-cells with phenotypic markers of OKT4/LEU3. Monoclonal blood B-lymphocytes were found in 45% of the cases. The presence of such cells in blood was frequently associated with a low OKT4+/OKT8+ ratio.