Abstract
1) Burkitt's lymphoma is likely to be B cell origin because of the presence of B cell markers. There are accumulating evidences which indicate Epstein-Barr (EB) viral etiology. Only B cell population was infected and transformed by EB virus when cord lymphocytes were cultured in the presence of the virus. Therefore B cell-tropism of the virus seemed to be the reason that Burkitt's lymphoma is B cell tumor.
Lymphocytosis in infectious mononucleosis (IM) caused by EB virus was proved due to the expansion of mainly T cell compartment. Most of the atypical lymphocytes were identified as T cells. Lymphoproliferative changes in IM seemed, therefore, to be the expression of T cell response to EB virus infection.
2) Leukemic cells from 42 cases with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were studied for T and B cells markers. Ten were identified as T cell type, while remaining were null cell type except one which had B cell markers. Infiltrative changes was more remarkable, relapse occurred earlier and survival time was shorter in leukemia of T cell type as compared with null cell type.
All of T type leukemic cells had poor stimulant effect in mixed lymphocyte culture reaction while 70% of null cell type simulated DNA synthesis of co-cultured lymphocytes well. T cell type seemed to have higher proliferative activity when their mitotic index and DNA synthesis were estimated.
