[Treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia with bone marrow transplantation at the Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion in Prague].

The outcomes of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) performed at the Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion from April 1988 to December 1994 in 31 patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia are presented. Age of the patients range from 18 to 49 years, median 34 years. Male:female ratio was 1.

[Monitoring lymphocyte activity in the peripheral blood of patients after bone marrow transplantation].

Background: After bone marrow transplantation serious complications develop which may limit the success of this therapeutic method. One of the early complications is an acute graft versus host reaction. The objective of the investigation was to evaluate the relationship between the number of active lymphocytes in the patient's blood stream after bone marrow transplantation and the development of an acute graft versus host reaction or rejection of the graft, and thus contribute towards prediction or diagnosis of these complications.

[Results of bone marrow transplantation at the Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion in Prague].

The first allogenic bone marrow transplantation (TKD), when for the preparation whole body irradiation was used, was implemented in the Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (UHKT) in Prague in 1986. Before June 1992 36 TKD were performed incl. 28 allogenic, 2 syngenic and 6 autologous.

Induction of NK and LAK activities in human lymphocyte culture by a cytosol fraction from leukemic myeloblasts and by monoclonal antibody CD 3.

The stimulating effect of cytosol fraction (F3) isolated from human myeloblasts (m.w. ranging from 30 to 100 kDa) and monoclonal antibody CD 3 (MEM 57) was tested on NK and LAK cell activities in peripheral mononuclear cells (PMNC) of normal donors and leukemic patients.

[Personal experience with treatment of acute myeloid leukemia using the DAT combination].

A combination of cytostatics--Rubomycin (Medexport), Alcysten (Spofa) and LANVIS (Wellcome) was used to treat 44 patients with the diagnosis AML. A total of 66% CR was achieved. The median duration of CR was 15 months and the median of survival of patients with CR was 25 months.

Positive effect of direct current on cytotoxicity of human lymphocytes.

Normal or leukemic human lymphocytes treated with direct current (DC) showed enhanced antileukemic cytotoxicity. The enhancing effect of DC-treated lymphocytes was dependent on current density and time exposure. A desirable effect was achieved with current densities ranging from 5 to 10 mA/cm2 at a short exposition time (5--10s).

[Patients with chimerism--immunologic detection of bone marrow acceptance].

The establishment of the ABO chimerism (two populations of erythrocytes deviating in ABO antigens) following a bone marrow transplantation represents a simple rapid method for the proof of the transplant acceptance. A remarkable case was described in which in a patient with hypoplasia of the bone marrow in the peripheral blood there exist two deviating in ABO antigens populations of erythrocytes (AB blood corpuscles of the patient and B erythrocytes of the donor) still 4 1/2 years after the transplantation of the bone marrow. This fact speaks for the simultaneous existence of the own bone marrow as well as of the bone marrow of the donor in the patient.

Derivatives of benzo(c)fluorene. XXIV. Cytostatic effect of benfluron on human leukemic cells in vitro.

Benfluoron (BF), a new cytostatic drug, synthesized at the Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry in Prague, was tested for its cytostatic and cytotoxic effect. The concentrations of BF ranging from 0.1-2 micrograms/ml had a significant cytostatic effect on nine stabilized human leukemic cell lines.

Immunogenicity of the Gardner lymphosarcoma for the mice of the strain C3H (H-2k). I. The effect of the 60Co-irradiation of recipients and of the interval between the immunization and transplantation of the tumor on the antitumor resistance of immunized mice.

The C3H (H-2k) mice were immunized by 60Co-irradiation-inactivated Gardner lymphosarcoma (LSG) cells. The degree of resistance of mice with transplanted tumors was determined by difference in survival curves of the immunized and nonimmunized mice. When the tumor was transplanted during 26 weeks after the last of the three immunizing injections the mean survival time of immunized mice was always prolonged over that of nonpretreated controls.

Influence of the incubation of cells with zinc and lithium ions on GVH reactivity of cells and on their ability to form haemopoietic colonies.

Mouse spleen and bone marrow cells were incubated for 2 h with ZnCl2 and Li2SO4 at different concentrations and tested for the ability to evoke the graft-versus-host reactions (GVHR) and to form pluripotent haemopoietic colonies. ZnCl2 at concentrations 5 X 10(-6) to 5 X 10(-4) M inhibited the regional GVHR. At a concentration of 5 X 10(-6) ZnCl2 also inhibited the ability to elicit the systemic GVHR in irradiated mice.

Effect of ribonucleases on cell-mediated lympholysis reaction and on GM-CFC colonies in bone marrow culture.

Natural dimer of bovine seminal ribonuclease (AS RNase) suppressed markedly DNA synthesis in allogeneic mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) of normal human lymphocytes and simultaneously inhibited induction of cytotoxic effector cells within the sensitization phase of indirect cell-mediated lympholysis (CML) reaction. The last purification step of the AS RNase isolation procedure did not increase the suppressive activity of AS RNase compared to a less purified preparation (ZS RNase), thus, the later preparation was mostly used. ZS RNase (10 micrograms/ml) caused 50% inhibition of MLC reaction whereas pancreatic ribonuclease (A RNase) was 10 times less effective.

Distribution of T-lymphocytic subpopulations detected by monoclonal antibodies in peripheral blood of patients with chronic lymphatic leukaemia.

This paper reports on 93 patients with chronic lymphatic leukaemia (CLL) where CLL of B-type (E-, T-, B+, Ig+/-) was defined in 84 cases (90%), CLL of T-type (E+, T+, B-, Ig-) in 3 cases (3.2%) and in the remaining 6 cases (6.4%) neither T nor B were clearly detected.

Immunologic characterization of T-lymphoproliferative disorders by monoclonal antibodies.

A series of 11 mouse monoclonal antibodies reactive with human T lymphoid cells at different stages of differentiation was used for immunological classification of leukaemic cells of 16 patients with T cell lymphoproliferative disorders by using a fluorescence assay. The majority of T-ALL cells had an immature or early thymic phenotype and T lymphoblastic lymphoma had phenotypes corresponding to different levels of more mature stages of T cell differentiation, Two cases of T-CLL and one adult patient with mycosis fungoides had mature T cell phenotypes being T-3+, T-4-, T-8+, cytotoxic/suppressor cell types and one case of T-CLL had T-3+, T-4+, T-8-, "helper/inducer" cell type, too. These results suggested that surface marker analysis in T cell lymphoproliferative disorders may be used as a highly reproducible immunological classification system that will provide additional information about phenotypes of leukaemic cells in connection with morphological analysis and clinical diagnosis.

Immunofluorescence studies on proteins B23 and C23 in nucleoli of human lymphocytes.

Nucleoli of normal and leukemic lymphocytes were studied by cytochemical and immunofluorescence methods to provide more information on the nucleolar presence and distribution of proteins B23 and C23. Annular nucleoli of human lymphocytes represent a very convenient subject for such studies, since they consist of one centrally located large fibrillar center surrounded by RNP components. In such nucleoli, protein C23 was present mainly in the central nucleolar region and protein B23 was found mostly in the periphery.

Treatment of C3H mice bearing solid Gardner lymphosarcoma with vaccine prepared from Corynebacterium parvum combined with methotrexate and Alexan.

C3H mice after transplantation of solid Gardner lymphosarcoma were injected with Methotrexate (MTX) or Alexan. The prolonged survival time of mice treated with antimetabolites was in some cases evidently reduced after an additional injection of Corynebacterium parvum (C.p.

Effect of vaccine prepared from Corynebacterium parvum on the growth of Gardner lymphosarcoma in C3H strain mice.

The present paper discusses the effect of a vaccine prepared with formol-killed Corynebacterium parvum (alias Propionibacterium acnes) on the growth of solid Gardner lymphosarcoma transplanted on C3H (H-2k) mice. The vaccine was injected at various time intervals prior to, simultaneously with, or following transplantation of the tumor to intact mice or mice immunized with 60Co-irradiated Gardner tumor cells. The effectivity was evaluated in terms of numbers of mice surviving without tumor 60-day observation period or prolongation of survival time.