Enhancement of the autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR) in children splenectomized after trauma

Abstract

Splenectomized individuals have been reported to have many immunological abnormalities. We have studied the proliferative response of T cells in AMLR of nine children who had undergone splenectomy after trauma. T cells from splenectomized patients showed increased proliferative response in AMLR as compared with that observed in parallelly studied controls (38.480 +/- 19.700 vs 11.160 +/- 3.760 dpm). The percentage of CD4 cells was diminished in the group of splenectomized patients. We found strong correlation between AMLR and time after splenectomy (r = -0.81, p less than 0.01). Possible mechanism of elevated AMLR following splenectomy and hypotheses on generation of AMLR are discussed.