Abstract
Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) is a nonspecific activator of lymphocytes and is of value in the in vivo and in vitro assessment of cellular immunity. One hundred and four subjects were skin tested with an intradermal injection of 1 μg of PHA. Ninety-one of 94 subjects with no apparent cellular immunodeficiency gave a positive response at 24 hours, including 5 patients with antibody deficiency but normal cellular immunity. There was a correlation between the in vivo and in vitro response to PHA in 22 of 23 normals tested. Four of 10 patients with cellular immunodeficiencies had no response to a 1 μg PHA skin test; in addition, the mean response for this group was significantly reduced when compared to normals. Five of 10 patients in the cellular immunodeficiency group gave positive skin tests in the presence of an abnormal in vitro response. The PHA skin test is a simple and useful screening test for cellular immune function and is of particular value in infants and young children since it does not require prior sensitization.
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