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American Journal of Pathology, Vol 88, 69-80, Copyright © 1977 by American Society for Investigative Pathology

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The lack of specificity of the sheep erythrocyte-T lymphocyte rosetting phenomenon

BA Woda, CM Fenoglio, EG Nette and DW King

One subpopulation of lymphocytes, thymus-derived (T) cells, is identified by its characteristic ability to form spontaneous rosettes with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC). However, the mechanism by which the rosettes form remains unknown. To gain more insight into the specificity of this phenomenon, the ability of SRBC to rosette with cells other thah lymphocytes was studied. All of the cell types utilized in this study (L cells, monkey liver cells, HeLa cells, and human liver, bladder, lung, parathyroid, and dermal fibroblasts), except neoplastic B lymphocytes, rosetted with SRBC. Viability was not a factor in the rosette formation. These findings suggest that the process of T lymphocyte-SRBC rosette formation is not due to a T cell- specific membrane receptor or antigen but may be due to a widely distributed basic substructure of the cell membrane.