Simplified whole blood method for evaluating in vitro lymphocyte reactivity of laboratory animals.

A whole blood culture technique has been employed to quantitatively evaluate lymphocyte reactivity of small laboratory animals including mice, rats, guinea-pigs and rabbits. This simplified method has been used to study the blastogenic response to phytohaemagglutinin, concanavalin A, pokeweed mitogen and staphy-lococcal filtrate. Tuberculin-induced lymphocyte transformation responses have been studied in serial experiments using sensitized animals. The results of this preliminary study demonstrate that the whole blood method has numerous advantages over the conventional techniques employing leucocyte concentrates. In almost all instances the degree of lymphocyte reactivity as measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation closely approximated or exceeded previously reported results using the standard culture method.