Relationship between antibody productivity by activated human lymph node lymphocytes from lung cancer patients and lymphocyte subsets

Regional lymph node lymphocytes from five patients with primary lung cancer were analyzed for subset composition, and exposed in vitro to the polyclon al human B cell mitogen Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I (SACI) or the murine B cell mitogen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and then fused with mouse myeloma c ells for investigation at the clonal level of their antibody (Ab) productio n and its statistical relation to the original subset composition. No corre lation was found between the proportion of CD19(+), CD23(+), or CD3(+) cell s in the lymphocyte sample prior to its exposure to either SACI or LPS, and the Ab production efficiency, defined as the ratio of the number of Ab pro ducing wells to the total number of proliferating wells. For lymphocytes ex posed to LPS, however, a strong correlation (r = 0.931, p = 0.02) was obser ved between the Ab production efficiency and the ratio of CD8(+) to CD3(+) cells (CD8/CD3) in the original sample at least within the ranges studied ( CD8/CD3 = 0.216-0.288). For those exposed to SACI, no correlation was found between the Ab production efficiency and the CD8/CD3 ratio (r = 0.881, p = 0.12) or the proportion of CD8(+) cells (r = 0.808, p = 0.19) in the origi nal sample. These results suggest that the repertoire of B cells responsive to LPS is different at least in part from the repertoire responsive to SAC I and that the ratio CD8/CD3 could serve as a practical predictor for Ab pr oduction by human lymphocytes stimulated with LPS.