Human lymphocyte affinity for sheep erythrocytes in young and aged healthy subjects

The kinetics of sheep erythrocyte rosette formation by human peripheral blood lymphocytes from young-adult and aged individuals were studied in 20 paired experiments. No difference in the rate and saturation plateau of formation could be found despite a slight increase in early rosette-forming cells. We conclude that the membrane affinity for sheep erythrocytes is unaffected by ageing and that the proportion of the circulating early E-RFC subpopulation is increased in healthy older subjects.