[Determination of active T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood by the AE rosette test. Correlation of the AE and E rosette tests with lymphocyte reactivity in vitro after PHA stimulation].

AE rosette test (Wybran and Fudenberg) detects T lymphocyte subpopulation and correlates with cellular immunity. In this study we found decreased percentage of active T lymphocytes mainly in peripheral blood of newborns, in children with frequent infections and with malabsorption syndrome. We tried to correlate AE and E rosette tests with PHA lymphocyte reactivity in vitro in 231 patients. We found that decreased PHA lymphocytes reactivity better correlates with decreased percentage of active T lymphocytes than with total number of T lymphocytes. Active rosette test (AE) can be usefull in evaluation of cellular immunity in children.