Abstract
Discussion and Summary
The fluorochrome, acridine orange, has been utilized in this laboratory as a rapid, sensitive, and reliable method for the visualization and tabulation of cells in the lymphocyte transformation test. With careful control of pH of the staining solution, and proper differentiation in ethanol—saline, the staining is highly reproducible and specific for DNA and RNA. Blastogenesis is readily recognizable by both nuclear and cytoplasmic changes. Acridine orange has been used to evaluate the nonspecific effect of phytohemagglutinin (PHA-P), and the specific antigenic stimulation of tetanus toxoid, coccidioidin, and typhoid vaccines, penicillin and penicilloyl-polylysine on human lymphocytes from sensitized individuals. The results obtained were comparable to those obtained from Wright-stained preparations and consistent with those from autoradiography of tritiated thymidine incorporation into nuclear DNA. Investigators using blastogenesis as an index for the lymphocyte transformation test may well wish to consider acridine orange for its simplicity and reliability.
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