title: Transformation of blood monocytes to multinucleated giant cells in vitro: are there any differences between malignant and nonmalignant states?
abstract: Blood monocytes (BMs) from 139 subjects (70 malignant melanoma patients, 31 breast cancer patients, 38 healthy controls) were cultured for at least 7 days. The formation of multinucleated giant cells (MGCs), which was checked during the whole time of culture, was observed in all cases. By the seventh day MGCs represented 25-50% and during the second and third month more than 90% of all cells. Lymphokines and/or concanavalin A stimulation (16-34 cases respectively) of BMs was performed as well. This stimulation greatly accelerated MGC formation. There were no differences either in spontaneous or in stimulated fusion between the different groups compared.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Tissue Cultures, Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Brno.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munzarová
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zemanová
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D002459:Cell Fusion / Q000187:drug effects; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D015726:Giant Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000494:pharmacology; D009000:Monocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D008222:Lymphokines; D003208:Concanavalin A