Purging murine leukemic marrow with alkyl-lysophospholipids
L Glasser, LB Somberg and WR Vogler
Autologous bone marrow transplantation is potentially curative in the
treatment of acute leukemia if residual leukemic cells in the marrow can be
eliminated prior to transplantation. We studied the purging effects of a
synthetic alkyl-lysophospholipid (ALP) on marrow containing leukemic cells
from a transplantable myelomonocytic leukemia (WEHI-3B) in BALB/c mice.
Simulated remission bone marrow containing 2% leukemic cells treated in
vitro with 20 and 100 micrograms/mL of ET-18- OCH3
(1-octadecyl-2-methyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine) significantly prolonged
survival of lethally irradiated transplanted recipients. At a dose of 100
micrograms/mL, 88% of the mice survived for the duration of the experiment
(approximately five months). Autopsies showed that 25% of these survivors
had microscopic evidence of leukemia. Thus, in vitro treatment of marrow
eliminated leukemic blasts and spared sufficient normal stem cells to allow
hematologic reconstitution. The effect of ET- 18-OCH3 is not entirely
selective for leukemic cells. A spleen colony assay showed that ALP has
some cytotoxic effect on normal hematopoietic stem cells.
Volume 64,
Issue 6,
pp. 1288-1291,
12/01/1984
Copyright © 1984 by The American Society of Hematology
