Indication of tumour specific cell-bound immunological reactivity and depressed general reactivity in a pair of twins

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from a patient with lung cancer were compared with those from his healthy identical twin for stimulation of DNA-synthesis upon exposure to mitomycin-C treated tumour cells, autochthonous, syngeneic and allogeneic lymphocytes, and phytohaemagglutinin in vitro. A `mixed leucocyte–target interaction test' showed DNA-synthesis in the syngeneic lymphocytes to be higher when mixed with mitomycin-C treated tumour cells than when mixed with lymphocytes from either twin. The results show a decreased ability to respond to phytohaemagglutinin and to the stimulus of allogeneic lymphocytes in the lymphocytes of the tumour-bearing individual as compared with those of his healthy twin.

Cell surface localized IgM-kappa immunoglobulin reactivity in a case of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

The cell surface of peripheral lymphocytes from a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia reacted strongly with fluorescein conjugated anti-IgM and kappa serum. Moreover in the presence of complement anti-IgM serum was cytotoxic. This patient was unusually resistant to various therapeutic measures. Serum immunoglobulin levels were slightly subnormal. The reactivity described differs from other chronic lymphocytic leukaemias studied but could be found in a number of Burkitt cases. The leukaemia cells may represent the malignant transformation of a normal lymphoid cell specialized to carry immunoglobulin on its cell membrane.

The escape of the renal blood flow response during sympathetic nerve stimulation

Response of renal blood flow to regional sympathetic nerve stimulation has been studied in anesthetized cats. When the sympathetic nerves to the kidney are stimulated at frequencies within the ‘physiological range’, renal blood flow first decreases markedly and then increases over the next 3 to 5 min to a value slightly below the control level. A similar ‘escape’ of the resistance response is found when the renal nerves are stimulated under conditions of constant flow. If the frequency of renal nerve stimulation is gradually increased the onset of the escape is greatly delayed, indicating that failure of impulse transmission or severe depletion of transmitter is unlikely to be the cause of the escape phenomenon. Intraarterial infusion of noradrenaline produces increased flow resistance with little or no subsequent escape showing that the escape cannot be attributed to loss of responsiveness of the vascular smooth muscle to the adrenergic transmitter. A quantitative decrease in the amount of transmitter released per impulse and intrarenal vascular control mechanisms related to blood flow autoregulation are discussed as possible causes of the escape phenomenon.