T-LYMPHOCYTE SUBPOPULATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH B-CELL CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTE LEUKEMIA - RELATIONSHIP TO INFECTIVE EPISODES

Patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) have an inc reased susceptibility to infection. Quantitative abnormalities of T-ce lls have been previously reported in B-CLL, although the relationship between such abnormalities and the incidence of infection still remain s to be established. We therefore enumerated lymphocyte subpopulations in 22 patients with B-CLL grouped according to the number of infectiv e episodes in the previous three years. No significant differences wer e found between the patient groups and the mean number of T-cells subs ets (helper, suppressor, suppressor-inducer and suppressor effector) o r NK cells, but patients with frequent infections were found to have s ignificantly higher CD5(+) B-cell counts. Thus, we confirm that T-cell subpopulations are numerically altered in patients with B-CLL, but fo und that such changes are not predictive of susceptibility to infectio n. Our results however suggest that the malignant B-cells may exhibit immunosuppressive activity.