T lymphocyte subpopulations in the bone marrow and peripheral blood of untreated patients with myeloma.

The quantitative distribution of the two main T lymphocyte subsets, recognizable by the 'high' and "low-affinity' E rosette-forming cell technique of West, was studied in both the bone marrow and peripheral blood from ten untreated multiple myeloma (MM) patients. A reduced total T lymphocyte count, with a relative predominance of 'low-affinity' T lymphocytes (putative suppressor T cells), was found in the peripheral blood. Within a normal total T lymphoid cell count, a predominance of the T lymphocyte subset with 'low-affinity' characteristics was also observed in the bone marrow. An inverse correlation, that was statistically significant, was seen between the monoclonal malignant cellular B component and the 'low-affinity' T cell percentage in all cases. It is concluded, therefore, that such an imbalance between the 'high' and "low-affinity' T subsets, with the latter predominating, could be of importance in the regulation of the growth rate of the monoclonal cellular B component.