MUTUAL CLONAL ORIGIN OF LYMPHOPLASMOCYTIC AND LYMPHOMA CELL IN ALPHA-HEAVY CHAIN DISEASE

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 27  (3) , 440-445
Abstract
Biosynthetic studies in .alpha.-H chain disease were performed on the [human] gut tumor (which was composed mainly of lymphoplasmocytic cells) and on the mesenteric lymph node tumor (composed mainly of immunoblasts). The gut tumor cells synthesized .alpha.-H chains and secreted them during a 2.5 h culture; the lymph node tumor cells synthesized .alpha.-H chains which were shed into the culture medium only after 20 h. These chains were shown to be present on the surface of the immunoblastic tumor cells by enzymatic radioiodination. The surface and the secreted .alpha.-H chains of the lymph node and gut tumor were smaller than the .alpha.-H chain of myeloma proteins. The lymphoplasmocytic and the immunoblastic tumor cells apparently originate from the same defective clone.