Phenotypes of mononuclear cell infiltrates in human central nervous system

Using a panel of monoclonal antibodies applicable for identification of cell types in paraffin sections, the prevalence of mononuclear cell infiltrates with different phenotypes was estimated in large areas taken from 11 cases of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases in the human central nervous system. The present study clearly demonstrated a diversity of inflammatory mononuclear cell infiltrates, and the dominance of cell types in individual lesions appeared to be determined by both the nature of the diseases and the age of the lesions. The possible pathognomonic significance of a relatively high prevalence of CD4+CD45RO+ lymphocytes in acute rabies and in a convalescent stage of Japanese encephalitis and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is discussed.