Quantitation of sensitization and responsiveness to dinitrochlorobenzene in normal subjects.

Dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) has been used widely to assess cell-mediated immunity in man. However, previous workers have evaluated response qualitatively and subjectively. Such methods cannot elucidate the quantitative relationships between stimulus and response essential to an understanding of the functional components of the system. We have developed quantitative techniques to explore the dose-response relationships of both afferent and efferent limbs of the response, and used this method to examine changes in reactivity to DNCB after exposure to UV radiation and in people with contact allergies.