STIMULATION OF CHRONIC LYMPHATIC-LEUKEMIA CELLS BY POKEWEED MITOGEN AFTER TREATMENT WITH NEURAMINIDASE-GALACTOSE OXIDASE

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  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 44  (1) , 124-128
Abstract
CLL [chronic lymphatic leukemia] lymphocytes [human] gave a low response upon stimulation with PHA [phytohemagglutinin] or PWM [pokeweed mitogen] in 3 day cultures. After treatment with neuraminidase-galactose oxidase (NGO), in the presence of PWM, CLL lymphocytes transformed into blasts and incorporated 3H-thymidine in 3 day cultures. This response of CLL lymphocytes was similar to that given by normal lymphocytes to PWM in 3 day cultures. The best stimulation of CLL lymphocytes was achieved when conditioned medium (CM) from normal T lymphocytes was present in PWM cultures. Purified B lymphocytes from CLL (T lymphocytes and monocytes removed) did not respond to PHA or PWM. After NGO treatment, these cells were stimulated by PWM, but only in the presence of CM. PHA failed to stimulate NGO-treated CLL lymphocytes or purified B lymphocytes. Evidently, CLL lymphocytes, which usually fail to respond to mitogens, can be stimulated by PWM to proliferate after treatment with NGO. This technique of B cell stimulation was useful in cytogenetic studies of B cell proliferative disorders.