Quantitative studies of macrophages in blood cultures in Hodgkin's disease.

In Hodgkin's disease, blood cultures showed a close relationship between the rate of blastic transformation of PHA-stimulated lymphocytes and the number of macrophages appearing in unstimulated cultures. Despite individual variations, in single cases the yield of macrophages agreed closely with the lymphocyte transformation rate. Results are discussed in connection with hypothesis on the origin of macrophages in culture.