[Spontaneous and mitogen-induced proliferative activity of mononucleocytes in pollinosis patients]

The proliferative response of lymphocytes to mitogens was studied in 17 patients according to 3H-thymidine incorporation. The patients had high sensitivity to timothy pollen, confirmed by the allergological anamnesis, skin tests, and the presence of allergen-specific IgE-antibodies. Mononuclears of peripheral blood were cultivated with a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to study the response to the polyclonal B cell activator, while with PHA to study the response of T cells over 7 days. The patients with pollinosis manifested increased spontaneous cell proliferation. The degree of the proliferative response of the cells to LPS and PHA was similar in patients and normal subjects. It is suggested that the magnitude of spontaneous proliferation influences the degree of the mitogenic response of B cells.