Table 1.
Peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations in patients with infectious mononucleosis (IM) caused by Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) or cytomegalovirus (CMV)
| Cellular subpopulation (%) median (minimum–maximum) | EBV-induced IM typical disease presentation | EBV-induced IM atypical disease presentation | CMV-induced infectious mononucleosis | Healthy controls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T lymphocytes | 88·2* | 86·8* | 80·3 | 75·2 |
| (84·5–92·5) | (79·4–91·6) | (66·2–90·1) | (68·9–88·2) | |
| B lymphocytes | 1·6* | 1·3* | 2·0 | 8·9 |
| (0·2–4·5) | (0·6–3·2) | (0·5–5·1) | (5·6–26·8) | |
| CD4+ | 13·3* | 11·5* | 23·1 | 46·5 |
| T lymphocytes | (6·9–28·9) | (7·5–26·8) | (10·2–30·5) | (35·5–63·4) |
| CD8+ T lymphocytes | 68·1* | 69·8* | 52·2 | 23·4 |
| (43·3–78·3) | (39·4–76·2) | (35·1–70·5) | (19·2–31·7) | |
| NK cells | 5·7 | 6·3 | 4·6 | 6·0 |
| (0·5–14·8) | (1·3–11·9) | (1·5–13·5) | (0·5–25·9) | |
| HLA-DR+ T lymphocytes | 53·9* | 30·9* | 36·8 | 5·6 |
| (13·7–81·4) | (15·6–75·1) | (12·1–54·6) | (1·0–9·2) |
The differences in all lymphocytes subpopulations (except NK cells) of both patient groups were significant compared to healthy controls (Mann–Whitney test, P < 0·05).
*
Statistically significant differences compared to patients with CMV-induced IM (Mann–Whitney test, P < 0·05).