Characterization of the phytohemagglutinin-induced proliferating lymphocyte subpopulations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients using a clonogenic agar technique and monoclonal antibodies.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from normal donors and patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell type, were purified into T, helper T, and suppressor T lymphocytes by fluorescence-activated cell sorting using OKT3, OKT4, and OKT8 monoclonal antibodies. The maximum response of the purified subpopulations to stimulation by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was determined by measuring the production of colonies when the stimulated cells were grown on agar. The helper T cells in normal and CLL patients were the most responsive to PHA stimulation, although the responsiveness of helper T cells to PHA was decreased in CLL. Purified CLL B cells responded minimally to PHA stimulation, but normal B lymphocytes did not. The abnormal response of CLL lymphocytes to PHA appears to be due abnormal helper T cells, and, to a smaller extent, to the ability of CLL B lymphocytes to respond.