[Current tests for the "in vitro" immunologic exploration in man]

Several "in vitro" methods are developed to study cellular immunity as same as study of antibodies in humoral immunity exploration. The more used in human pathologics are the enumeration of thymus-derived (T) lymphocytes by the formation of nonimmune rosettes E with sheep erythocytes and bone marrow (B) lymphocytes by the presence of membrane-bound immunglobulins; the detection of lymphocyte activation by measuring proliferation (lymphocyte transformation); the mixed lymphocyte reaction, the elaboration of biologically active mediators (lymphokines) and the lymphocyte-mediated cytoxicity.