Increased blood clearance rate of indium-111 oxine-labeled autologous CD4+
blood cells in untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease
G Grimfors, G Holm, H Mellstedt, PO Schnell, O Tullgren and M Bjorkholm
Department of Medicine, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) have a blood T-
lymphocytopenia mainly caused by a reduction of the CD4+ subset. Indirect
support for a sequestration of T cells in the spleen and tumor- involved
lymphoid tissue has accumulated. To test the hypothesis that the blood CD4
T-lymphocytopenia in patients with HD is caused by an altered lymphocyte
traffic, 12 untreated HD patients and five in complete clinical remission
(CCR) were studied. Blood lymphocytes were collected by leukapheresis and
gradient centrifugation, and were further purified by an adherence step.
The cells were labeled with indium-111 oxine and reinfused intravenously
into the patient. The radioactivity of CD4+ and CD8+ blood lymphocytes
separated by immunoabsorption was measured from serial blood samples. CD4+
cells were eliminated more rapidly in untreated patients than patients in
CCR. Repeated gamma camera imaging after autotransfusion of indium-111
oxine labeled cells demonstrated an accumulation of radioactivity in
tumor-involved tissue of untreated patients. These findings support the
concept of an enhanced elimination of CD4+ cells in patients with active HD
that may contribute to the observed blood T-lymphocytopenia and may reflect
a biologic response to the tumor.
Volume 76,
Issue 3,
pp. 583-589,
08/01/1990
Copyright © 1990 by The American Society of Hematology
