Phenotyping of mononuclear cells from tonsils and corresponding biopsies using a cytofluorimeter. A comparative study

A series of B, T, natural killer cell (NK) and monocyte-specific monoclonal antibodies was used to determine the distribution of lymphocyte subpopulations in cell suspensions obtained from whole tonsils as well as their corresponding biopsies. The majority of the mononuclear cells stained with OKB-7 and anti-Dr. A consistent lower percentage of the B lymphocytes stained with OKB-2. The T lymphocytes were composed of a majority of OKT4+ lymphocytes. Only a minority of the lymphocytes stained with Leu-7, whereas Leu-llb+ lymphocytes were virtually absent. A significant proportion of the mononuclear cells stained with OKM-1. There was a highly significant correlation between the distribution of the cells stained with the different monoclonal antibodies obtained from the whole tonsil and the corresponding biopsy (r2 = 0.95). This study shows that biopsies offer a reliable source to study the lymphocyte subsets in tonsils and that cytofluorimetry can be applied to study the lymphocyte distribution in this organ.