Combined Detection of Human T and B Lymphocytes by Rosette Formation with Sheep Erythrocytes and Zymosan-C3 Complexes

A new method for detecting human complement receptor (B) lymphocytes by utilizing rosette formation with zymosan particles treated with mouse complement (ZC) has been described in this paper. The method has been compared with rosette formation with human erythrocytes sensitized with rabbit antibody and mouse complement (HEAC). T cells have been detected by rosette formation with sheep erythrocytes (E). The combined detection of both B and T lymphocytes could be performed by using as indicator a mixture of ZC and E. Mean percentage values for E and ZC were 60.5 and 15.2 by using the combined determination to study lymphocytes from 30 normal subjects. The mean percentage value for HEAC was 19.5. Only a small proportion of lymphocytes (1 to 2%) formed mixed rosettes with ZC and E. This paper further demonstrates the use of this combined indicator for the study of the distribution of B and T cells in tissue sections.