Experimental study on spontaneous DNA synthesis of tonsillar lymphocytes in chronic recurrent tonsillitis and focal tonsillitis.

The immune function of tonsils and the immunological mechanisms of focal tonsillitis are still controversial. We do have some knowledge about the structure of tonsillar cells, but their functional status is still not clear. In 40 cases of chronic recurrent tonsillitis and 20 cases of focal tonsillitis with glomerular nephritis, cell culture of tonsillar lymphocytes was removed in vitro and 3H-tymidin incorporation applied to investigate the spontaneous DNA synthesis of tonsillar lymphocytes. The results demonstrated that: i) In chronic tonsillitis, spontaneous DNA synthesis of tonsillar lymphocytes in children is significantly stronger than that in adults (19,946 +/- 5,612 vs 9,216 +/- 5,702 cpm) (p <0.01). ii) Spontaneous DNA synthesis of tonsillar lymphocytes in focal tonsillitis is significantly stronger than that in the chronic recurrent tonsillitis in patients of the same age (25,307 +/- 12,231 cpm vs 12,455 +/- 7,914 cpm) (p <0.01). This indicates that the tonsillar lymphocytes are active in focal tonsillitis, can produce large amounts of memory B-cell clones, which reach other parts of the body through the blood and cause autoimmune reaction which can be blocked by tonsillectomy, thus curing the systemic disease.