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Atypical Lymphocytes in Acute Infectious Mononucleosis

1974; Massachusetts Medical Society; Volume: 291; Issue: 22 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1056/nejm197411282912201

1533-4406

Paul K. Pattengale, Richard W. Smith, Elliott Perlin,

Immune Cell Function and Interaction

Atypical lymphocytes from four patients with acute infectious mononucleosis were tested for the presence of five separate markers of thymic-derived (T) and bone-marrow-derived (B) lymphocytes. This test was done to rule out the possibility that the previously described sheep erythrocyte rosetting capacity (a normal T-cell marker) of atypical lymphocytes in infectious mononucleosis was due to passive adsorption or production of heterophil (anti-sheep erythrocyte) antibody on the surface of B lymphocytes and was therefore a false-positive reaction. The vast majority of atypical lymphocytes had sheep erythrocyte receptors as well as human T-lymphocyte specific antigens and lacked three reliable B-cell markers (complement receptors, surface immunoglobulin, and human B lymphocyte specific antigens). Since Epstein-Barr virus, the etiologic agent of infectious mononucleosis, has recently been shown to infect only B lymphocytes, the finding that the atypical lymphocytes are indeed T cells suggests that these uninfected T cells play a part in the immune response to the Epstein-Barr virus. (N Engl J Med 291:1145–1148, 1974)