37°C E Rosettes in Various Malignant and Non-malignant Disorders

Abstract

T [thymus-derived] lymphocytes, forming sheep erythrocyte rosettes at 37.degree. C, have been described in thymus glands, mitogen and allogeneic cell-stimulated lymphocyte cultures and acute T cell lymphoblastic leukemia. The finding of such lymphocytes in lymph nodes of a variety of [human] disorders including Hodgkin''s disease, Lennert''s lymphoma, malignant lymphoma of large transformed T lymphocytes, immunoblastic lymphadenopathy, metastatic carcinoma and other disorders was described. A large number of tonsils, but not reactive lymph nodes, also contained a significant number of those T lymphocytes. The significance of these findings in relation to interpretation of immune red cell rosettes and to the subclasses of T lymphocytes was discussed.