Comparative study of mitogenic responses in man and Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata): responses of T-cell subsets, accessory cell dependency, and interleukin-2 receptor expression.

Responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P), concanavalin-A (ConA), and pokeweed mitogen (PWM) were compared in man and Japanese monkeys. Both CD8+ and CD8- T subsets showed greater responses to ConA than to PHA-P in the Japanese monkey. Addition of macrophages to each T subset produced more effective augmentation of ConA response in the Japanese monkey than in man, and ConA induced more interleukin-2-receptor-positive blast cells than PHA-P did in Japanese monkeys.