Alpha-naphthyl-acetate-esterase reaction for peripheral lymphocytes and monocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

The proportion of T-lymphocytes and monocytes was estimated by the alpha-naphthyl-acetate-esterase-(ANAE)-reaction in blood smears of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and normal controls. A parallel and significant reduction in the number of T-lymphocytes identified on the basis of both the ANAE and the E-rosette test was found in SLE. In the active periods of SLE more T-cells were identified by the enzyme histochemical study than by the E-rosette test, which points to a functional damage to the T-cells. A marked reduction in the number of the cells considered to be of the suppressor type was demonstrable by both methods in the active period. A distinct reduction in the number of monocytes was also demonstrable by ANAE in the patients with SLE, which may be one of the manifestations of deficient immunoregulation in this disease.