Ox red blood cells sensitized with rabbit anti-ox red cell antibody adhered opsonically to freshly prepared human peripheral blood lymphocytes. When tested by a centrifugation technique 24–59% of live lymphocytes in normal individuals formed rosettes with the indicator red cells while 41–87% of the lymphocytes in chronic lymphatic leukaemia reacted. After storage at + 4 °C the lymphocytes gradually lost the operative receptor; killing the cells by freezing and thawing, by sodium azide or by fixation in formaldehyde also resulted in loss of capacity to bind the indicator cells. Pretreatment of the lymphocytes with high doses of anti-human IgM in diluted serum resulted in a definite, although incomplete, inhibition. Also, soluble antigen-antibody complexes were inhibitory, although strong inhibition was difficult to show. Undiluted, heated normal human or rabbit serum was highly inhibitory. The high incidence of lymphocytes showing antibody opsonic adherence in patients with chronic lymphatic leukaemia, together with the finding that most lymphocytes binding sensitized ox red cells did not bind unsensitized sheep red cells (a possible T-cell marker) suggests that lymphocytes showing antibody opsonic adherence represent a subpopulation of peripheral blood lymphocytes. This subpopulation might be an analogue of the B-cell population in mice.

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