Response of lymphocyte subsets in patients under treatment for tuberculosis

Thirty-six immunocompetent patients with tuberculosis underwent six sequential measurements of blood lymphocyte subsets after the onset of therapy. Two different responses were observed, depending on each patient's initial lymphocyte count. Patients with initial lymphocytopaenia showed a marked increase in all lymphocyte subpopulations shortly after the initiation of treatment, whereas those without lymphocytopaenia showed a decrease in the cell counts during the initial 2 months, followed by a slow increase during the following 4 months. The lymphocytes as a whole and all lymphocyte subsets showed remarkably parallel curves in each group. These results strongly suggest that the lymphocytic responses to tuberculosis involve all lymphocyte subsets, not only the T or CD4+ lymphocytes as previously thought.