Salmonella typhi--induced stimulation of blood lymphocytes from persons with previous typhoid fever.

In 21 persons with previous typhoid fever and in 15 controls thymidine incorporation of blood lymphocytes stimulated in vitro by killed Salmonella typhi was studied. The optimal culture conditions were established to be a cell density of 10(5) cells per vial, stimulated with 10(8) S. typhi and incubated for 5 days. The lymphocytes response to S. typhi was significantly higher in the typhoid group than in the controls. The lymphocyte responsiveness was not correlated to the time elapsed since the attack, and was not found different in patients who had had typhoid relapse. No difference was found in lymphocyte response to the mitogens PHA, PWM and Con-A between the typhoid group and the controls.