Lymphocyte proliferative response to allergen in timothy sensitive patients and healthy persons.

Presented are the results of the evaluation of lymphocytes proliferative response to a specific allergen in 30 pollinosis patients with hypersensitivity to timothy pollen, confirmed by the subject's allergy history, diagnostic skin tests, allergen-specific histamine release from basophils and by the presence of allergen-specific IgE-antibodies. The level of spontaneous proliferation of lymphocytes in pollinosis patients was found to increase. Manifestations of cell responses to Con A very similar in diseased and healthy subjects. The allergen-induced proliferative response of lymphocytes in pollinosis patients did not differ essentially from that in healthy persons. The authors make the supposition that the application of LBTR (using 3H-Thymidine incorporation) in demonstrating the immediate hypersensitivity to pollen allergens does not prove to be well grounded.