Lymphocyte function in Hodgkin's Disease

The immunologic deficiency of Hodgkin's disease includes skin anergy, delay in homograft rejection, negative transformation response of blood lymphocytes, and susceptibility to infections, particularly those of fungal or viral etiology (1, 3, 5). Since thymus-derived lymphocytes normally mediate these functions, a disturbance of this cell system would account for the observed immunological deficiencies in Hodgkin's disease. The majority, if not all of thymus-derived lymphocytes belong to the pool of recirculating, long-lived, small lymphocytes and an unimpeded circulation of these cells between lymph and blood is considered essential for a complete expression of their immunocompetence. Blockage and alteration of this circulation at the level of the lymph node is likely to occur in patients with Hodgkin's disease because of the characteristic infiltration of the lymph nodes by neoplastic cells. The question arises, therefore, whether the immunological deficiencies of Hodgkin's disease are due to intrinsically incompetent lymphocytes or the result of a faulty circulation of intrinsically competent lymphocytes. To answer this question the thoracic duct lymphocytes as well as blood lymphocytes of a patient with Hodgkin's disease have been studied with regard to re-circulation and immunocompetence.