title: In vitro culture and ultrastructure analysis of peripheral blood cells separated by discontinuous albumin density gradient during blast crisis of chronic granulocyte leukemia.
abstract: Peripheral blood from 4 patients with chronic granulocytic leukemia during blast crisis has been investigated. One case has been studied before and after treatment with Arabinosyl-Cytosine and 6-Thioguanine. The nucleated blood cells have been separated by a discontinuous density gradient. Cells were obtained from six different gradient fractions (F1-F6: density ranging  from 1.052 to 1.078). 0.5 X 10(5) cells from each density fraction have been cultured in agar culture system to evaluate the granulocyte-monocyte committed stem cells (Colony Forming Units-granulocyte monocyte: CFU-GM). Cells recovered from the same density fractions have been studied by electron microscopy to evaluate the number of less differentiated cells. A quantitative correlation between plating efficiency and blast cells number was carried out. The results indicate that the highest recovery of both CFU-GM and blast cells is present in light density fractions (specific density below 1.063). However a discrepancy between blast cell frequency and granulocyte-monocyte colony formation in the same density fractions appears to be evident. In the patient studied before and after treatment it appears that only one out of two light density fractions (F1) responds to the antiblastic treatment.
mesh_terms: D001773:Blood Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002499:Centrifugation, Density Gradient; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009000:Monocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013866:Thioguanine / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D003561:Cytarabine; D013866:Thioguanine