Studies on the identification of B lymphocytes using protein A. Lymphocytes of human palatine tonsil.

The prinicpal methods presently being applied to distinction of the subpopulations of lymphocytes consist in the E-rosette method for T cells and the EAC-rosette method for B cells. However, it has been learned that other cells have the ability to form rosettes. B cells are employed in various experiments due to the explicitly verifiable immunoglobulin on the surface of lymphocytes. However, as the fluorescent antibody method adopted as the method for verification has a number of difficulties, we tried to determine B cells by utilizing protein A, by combining protein A with SRBC (sheep red blood cells) and forming rosettes, both in human peripheral blood and in human intratonsillar lymphocytes. As a result, it was noted that lymphocytes indicating positivity existed at a level of 15-20% in human blood and 40-45% in the tonsil.