Impairment of lymphocyte transformation by plasma from patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease.

The effect of plasma from 34 patients with untreated Hodgkin's disease on the transformation of homologous normal lymphocytes was compared with that of plasma from matched normal control subjects. The plasma from some of the patients reduced lymphocyte responsiveness to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and this inhibitory effect was most obvious in plasma from patients with advanced-stage disease. In addition, the patient's own lymphocytes showed a depressed response to PHA, an effect also apparent to a greater degree in patients with advanced disease. This finding did not correlate with the numbers of available T-lymphocytes or the amount of unstimulated lymphocyte DNA synthesis, but did correlate with the observed plasma effects. It appears that impairment of lymphocyte transformation in Hodgkin's disease is in part due to soluble circulating inhibitory substances appearing as the disease progresses.