CELL TRANSFORMATIONS AND MITOSES PRODUCED IN VITRO BY TUBERCULIN PURIFIED PROTEIN DERIVATIVE IN HUMAN BLOOD CELLS

Abstract

Human blood cells were incubated with tuberculin or tuberculin-purified protein derivative (PPD) in slide chambers and Erlenmeyer flasks. After three to five days the cell cultures had blast-like cells which were morphologically similar to the cells produced by phytohemagglutinin (PHA). In addition, PPD, like PHA, stimulated mitotic activity in cultures of blood cells. The PPD, however, did not cause agglutination or clumping of erythrocytes or leukocytes and in this respect differed from PHA. A purified suspension consisting almost exclusively of lymphocytes developed blast-like cells and showed mitotic activity when the suspension was incubated with PPD. The findings suggest that PPD, like PHA, transformed lymphocytes to blast-like cells and stimulated mitotic activity in lymphocytes or in cells derived from lymphocytes.