Isolation of T lymphocyte subsets from peripheral blood using monoclonal antilymphocyte antibodies.

Monoclonal antisera against helper (serum OKT4) and suppressor (serum OKT8) T cells were employed in a complement-dependent lymphocytotoxicity reaction to isolate helper and suppressor T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. When prepared by this method, helper and suppressor T cells had a purity of 67.8 percent and 78.8 percent, respectively. Approximately 56 percent of viable suppressor and 33 percent of viable helper T cells were lost during the procedure.