Occurrence of restricted suppressor T-cell activity in man.

Abstract

Blood leukocytes from an immunologically hyporesponsive patient with urinary bladder carcinoma were deficient in their ability to stimulated 3 of 27 responder leukocyte preparations from normal individuals in one-way mixed leukocyte culture (MLC). The patient''s T[thymus-derived cell]-depleted leukocytes functioned adequately as stimulator cells. T-enriched lymphocytes from this patient suppressed the MLC responsiveness of those 3 normals but not the responsiveness of other normals. The patient''s cells suppressed the MLC responsiveness of only 1 of each of the parents of 2 of the normals who could be suppressed by the patient''s leukocytes suggesting a possible genetic restriction to this suppressor cell activity.