FLOW CYTOMETRIC QUANTIFICATION OF LYMPHOCYTE SUBPOPULATIONS AND IMMUNOGLOBULIN-CONTAINING CELLS IN ADENOID TISSUE IN RELATION TO SECRETORY OTITIS-MEDIA AND AGE

This study was designed to identify differences in the immunological r eactions in adenoid tissue between children suffering from chronic sec retory otitis media (SOM) and control children without ear disease. Ce ll populations were identified using monoclonal antibodies and flow cy tofluorometry to facilitate quantitative comparisons. A modification o f the FOG method was developed to quantify lymphocytes with intracellu lar IgG and IgA. Immunological screening was done in the first part of the study. No significant differences were found between the groups r egarding cells positive for CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20 or CD25. A significant ly higher number of PCA-I positive cells (presumably plasma cells) wer e found in the SOM group. The second part of the study concentrated sp ecifically on cells containing IgG or IgA. No statistically significan t differences in number of positive cells were found between the group s. When we related the percentage of positive cells to age, a statisti cally significant decrease with age for IgA-positive cells was found i n the SOM group but not in the control group. This result supports the hypothesis that SOM is associated with an immunological reaction that influences immunoglobulin production in adenoid tissue.