PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - G Lucivero
AU  - G Pierucci
AU  - L Bonomo
TI  - Lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood and pleural fluid
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.93.01040337
DP  - 1988 Apr 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 337--340
VI  - 1
IP  - 4
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/1/4/337.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/1/4/337.full
SO  - Eur Respir J1988 Apr 01; 1
AB  - We have examined the distribution of B and T lymphocytes, T-cells with helper/inducer (T4+) or suppressor/cytotoxic (T8+) phenotypes and a subset of cells with natural killer (NK) activity and positive for the Leu 7 (HNK-1) surface antigen in peripheral blood and in lymphocyte-rich pleural effusions of patients with tuberculosis or malignancies (mesothelioma and lung cancer with pleural metastasis). In individual patients, the percentages of T lymphocytes were uniformly higher in pleural effusions than in peripheral blood; however, lower percentages of B lymphocytes and cells positive for the Leu 7 antigen were present in pleural fluids. The analysis of T-cell subpopulations demonstrated a selective enrichment of T lymphocytes with helper/inducer phenotype in pleural effusions, while the percentages of T-cells with suppressor/cytotoxic phenotype were similar in pleural fluid and peripheral blood. These results indicate that in lymphocytic pleural effusions the main lymphoid cell population is represented by T lymphocytes with helper/inducer phenotype, regardless of whether the effusion is due to tuberculosis or malignancies such as mesothelioma or lung cancer.