Occurrence of restricted suppressor T-cell activity in man

Blood leukocytes from an immunologically hyporesponsive patient with urinary bladder carcinoma were found to be deficient in their ability to stimulate 3 of 27 responder leukocyte preparations from normal individuals in one-way mixed leukocyte culture (MLC). The patient's T-depleted leukocytes, however, functioned adequately as stimulator cells. T-enriched lymphocytes from this patient suppressed the MLC responsiveness of those three normals but not the responsiveness of other normals. The patient's cells suppressed the MLC responsiveness of only one of each of the parents of two of the normals who could be suppressed by the patient's leukocytes suggesting a possible genetic restriction to this suppressor cell activity.