title: Immunoregulatory properties of childhood leukemias.
abstract: Investigation of in vitro humoral immune responses and immunoregulatory properties of leukemic cell was carried out in 17 children with acute leukemia prior to therapy. Leukemias were of the non-T, non-B-cell type in 13 patients and of T-cell origin in four. Bone marrow and peripheral blood cells consisted of 24-96% lymphoblasts and were generally deficient in surface Ig-positive cells. Induction of Ig secreting cells in response to pokeweed mitogen was markedly decreased in marrow and peripheral mononuclear cell cultures of leukemic patients. Co-culture of leukemic cells with normal lymphocytes led to marked deviations from the expected Ig secreting-cell response of the cell mixtures. The predominant effect was enhancement, as was the case with eight non-T, non-B-cell and one T-cell leukemia samples. Suppression of the Ig secreting-cell response was observed in only three instances, two with non-T, non-B-cell and one with T-cell leukemia samples. These findings implicate non-T, non-B as well as more differentiated leukemic cells in having the potential for modifying Ig production by B cells.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007223:Infant; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology