Abstract
Summary
Suspensions of normal human blood cells were incubated at 37°C with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in slide chambers. In 2 to 4 days, the reagent stimulated the formation of large blast-like cells (PHA-cells) which could be readily differentiated from macrophages. PHA-cells developed in purified suspensions of lymphocytes and many intermediate cells were seen between PHA-cells and lymphocytes. PHA-cells did not develop in blood cell suspensions of some patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia nor in suspensions of rat blood cells. The findings suggest that PHA-cells were derived from normal human lymphocytes and should be differentiated from macrophages.
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