The influence exerted by the specific immunotherapy (SIT) of delayed hypersensitivity (DH) to staphylococci and subsequent sensitization with tarragon pollen on the level of immunocompetent cells in the blood and lymphoid organs of guinea pigs was studied. On the whole, SIT normalized the characteristics of T- and B-lymphocytes, altered as the result of experimentally induced DH: the content of T-cells in the peripheral blood and the lymph nodes increased, while the number of B-cells in the blood and T gamma-suppressors increased. The subsequent heterologous sensitization with pollen abolished the effect of SIT, inducing the general decrease of the level of T gamma-lymphocytes and enhancing the number of T-lymphocytes in the lymph nodes.
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