Lymphocyte activation in penicillin allergy: modification of the response to phytohaemagglutinin by benzylpenicilloylated human albumin.

Lymphocytes from twenty-six subjects, allergic or non-allergic to penicillin, were cultured together with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and penicillin. The antigen, benzylpenicilloylated human serum albumin (BPO-HSA), induced an enhanced proliferation with PHA in the allergic subjects, but a decreased proliferation with PHA in the non-allergic subjects treated by penicillin (p less than 0.01). The results are interpreted in terms of B- and T-cell regulations in the immune response of man to penicillin.