Blood lymphocytes in myeloma patients; high percentage of complement receptor bearing cells is accompanied by decreased anti-immunoglobulin (Ig) binding capacity

Properties of an anti-idiotype antiserum: demonstration of cross-reacting mitogenic determinants on bone marrow plasmacytoma cells

An antiserum against a monoclonal protein of IgG/kappa type from a patient S. was produced by immunization of guinea pigs. Idiospecificity of the antiserum (anti-Id AS) was tested by immunoprecipitation and hemagglutination inhibition. About 70% mononuclear cells prepared from the bone marrow (BM) aspirate of this patient stained positive when the antiserum was used in an indirect immunofluorescence (IF) procedure detecting surface membrane structures. Commercial antisera specific for gamma, kappa and lambda immunoglobulin (Ig) chains stained only 5-17% of the cells. With mu chain and delta chain specific antisera no reactivity could be observed. The presence of idiotype cross-reacting determinants (Id-CR-D), that is idiotypes not associated with Ig isotypes could be also demonstrated by a significant increase of 3H-thymidine incorporation of the BM cells in the presence of the anti-Id AS. Phytohemagglutinin (PHA), pokeweed mitogen (PWM) and concanavalin A had no effect. In a cell sorting experiment using affinity gel chromatography it could be shown that the anti-Id AS preferentially binds to proplasmacytes. Cells of this type were enriched two-fold over plasma cells in the eluate. The analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from the patient revealed about 40% positive cells without correlation to a certain subpopulation. Administration of prednisolone to the patient resulted in a significant reduction of the Id positive cells within two days. In conclusion it appears that our antiserum detects cells of an individual tumour clone within PBL and BM-cells. By the stimulating effect of the anti-Id AS a proliferative potential of plasmacytoma cells could be defined which may work also 'in vivo'. Thus, Id-CR-D may operate as a tumour growth receptor.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) and membrane receptors in human leukemia and lymphoma -- first experience with lyophilized cells

Surface marker analyses and TdT assays were performed on cells from 31 patients. A variety of diagnoses were made and categorized as follows: acute leukemia (group I), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (group II) and diverse diagnoses (group III). Levels of TdT in the range from 0 to 7.9 U/mg lyophilized blasts from the peripheral blood were found in AL. This corresponds to 0-95 U/10(8) cells. Preparations of mononuclear cells from the peripheral blood of healthy donors showed TdT values up to 0.88 U/mg or 10.6 U/10(8) cells. High TdT activity was observed in a patient with AML, type M1 according to the FAB classification. In a patient with ALL (L1) cytostatic treatment effected the clearance of TdT activity from the peripheral blood cells and at the same time induced a significant increase of E rosette forming cells. Combined studies of the TdT activity and cell surface markers may enable us to define remissions and relapses of AL more precisely than it is possible by conventional cytological methods. Within the group II two patients with moderate TdT activities of 1.2 and 1.28 U/mg, respectively, were observed whose cells were of prolymphocytic or unclassifiable appearance, respectively. The TdT assay may be helpful to identify such cells of unknown origin and in addition may provide the means of discrimination between such cases and ALL patients who mostly show high TdT activities. Another result of our studies was the finding of moderate TdT activity of 1.2 U/mg with cells from the pleural effusion of a patient with Hodgkin's disease. Cells from malignant effusions from a patient with melanoma and a patient with teratoid carcinoma showed no TdT activity. Cells form the peripheral blood and from the bone marrow of a patient with blast crisis of CML showed TdT activity of 1.52 and 2.72 U/mg, respectively. Two other patients with blast crisis were negative. Not TdT activity was found in leukemic plasma cells. Our results show that lyophilized cells can be used for determinations of TdT activity. This greatly facilitates multi-parameter studies including cytological, cell surface marker and biochemical analyses.