Serum beta 2 microglobulin in malignant lymphoproliferative disorders.

Serum beta-2-microglobulin (S-beta 2M) was measured at diagnosis in 44 patients with lymphocytic leukemias and 47 with malignant lymphomas. Among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) S-beta 2M was raised (greater than 3 mg/l) in 74% and in 23.5% of those with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

[The differentiation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes by immunological methods. III. Results in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (author's transl)].

In 47 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia surface markers were evaluated on mononuclear cells of the peripheral blood as well as in some cases on bone marrow lymphocytes. The lymphocytes were characterized by their binding capacity for sheep red blood cells, the demonstration of Fc-receptors, complement receptors as well as surface immunoglobulins. In 6 of 23 untreated patients the blasts bound sheep red blood cells spontaneously (T-ALL), in two of these six cases the lymphoblasts had simultaneously receptors for complement.

[T-cell lymphoma (author's transl)].

The percentage of T- and B-lymphocytes was determined by means of surface markers in 190 patients suffering from various lymphoproliferative disease. Characteristic T-cell lymphomas were diagnosed in 8 patients: 2 of these patients suffered from acute leukaemia, 2 from lymphoblastic lymphoma, 3 from mycosis fungoides and one from the Sézary syndrome. The clinical course of the disease in these patients, the clinical picture and the results obtained with various surface markers and with unspecific mitogens are described and discussed.

[Rosette tests in lymphoproliferative diseases].

The percentage and absolute count of B- and T-lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of 170 patients with various lymphoproliferative diseases was determined. T-lymphocytes were assessed by their capacity to form rosettes with unsensitized neuraminidase treated sheep red blood cells, and B-lymphocytes by their capacity to bind immune-complement complexes. The results in CLL, in non-Hodgkin lymphoma and in Hodgkin's disease are discussed with respect to the immunopathology of these diseases.

Antibodies for T lymphocytes in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Sera of twenty-four patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were evaluated for antibodies cytotoxic for autologous lymphocytes. Such antibodies were domenstrable in twenty-two of these sera, whereas only one out of twenty patients with other connective tissue or lymphoproliferative disease showed a positive test. The antibodies remained detectable even when the patients went into remission.

Complement levles in relation to certain antibodies in polytransfused thalassaemic patients.

Polytransfused patients are exposed to a variety of antigenic stimuli which may eventually trigger autoimmune reactions. The relation of serum complement to the occurrence of various antibodies has been investigated in a group of 75 polytransfused thalassaemic patients. The incidence of the antibodies studied was as follows: anti-HBs 77%, anti-Gm 64%, rheumatoid factor 31%, antinuclear 13%, anti-smooth muscle 47%.

Disturbance of cell-mediated immunity in patients with carcinoma of colon and rectum.

The cellular immune mechanisms of patients with adenocarcinoma of colon or rectum were evaluated by studying the lymphocyte response to PHA stimulation. Our results indicate that the serum of cancer patients causes a decreased blastic transformation and H(3) thymidine uptake of the lymphocytes of patients as well as of normal controls. A defect of the lymphocytes unrelated to serum factors was also present in some cancer patients.