Studies on the peripheral blood and the in vitro response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to common mitogens in Macaca speciosa.

In a longitudinal study on 13 adult female stumptailed macaques, Macaca speciosa, peripheral blood samples were analyzed hematologically and the in vitro response of the lymphocytes to the common mitogens concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen were investigated. The results showed that the total leukocyte and differential counts in each animal remained quite stable throughout the 3-month experiment. The responses in culture to the mitogens showed that there were differences in the stimulation obtained by each mitogen and that the animals may be placed into high, medium and low groups based on differences in their level of response.