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Biomedical subjects

R Taetle

Publications and source records attributed to R Taetle.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Characterization of normal peripheral blood lymphocyte colony-forming cells: cell cycle status, surface markers, and cellular growth requirements.

We performed a series of studies to further clarify the nature of lymphocyte colony-forming cells (CFC) from normal peripheral blood. Mononuclear cells were separated into E-rosette-enriched (E+) and E-rosette-depleted (E-) populations and cultured in methylcellulose with conditioned media and irradiated mononuclear cells. Linear plating relationships were obtained with plating efficiencies of 0.26% +/- .02% (mean +/- SE) for E+ CFC and 0.18% +/- .02% for E- CFC. Cells in E+ colonies were T lymphocytes and in E- colonies were B lymphocytes as determined by cell surface marker analysis. Using the thymidine suicide technique, approximately one-half of CFC were found to be in cycle at any moment, and plating efficiencies and cell cycle status of E+ CFC were not changed by preincubation with PHA in liquid culture for 48 hr. Using antibody complement-mediated cytotoxicity, E+ CFC were found to be T101+, OKT3+, and Ia-, while E- CFC were OKT3- and Ia+. Using monocyte-depleted populations obtained by sedimentation at unit gravity, lymphocyte colony growth was absent in monocyte-depleted fractions, and optimal growth occurred with 40% monocytes in culture. In contrast to some previous studies, we find that lymphocyte CFC originate from a small, cycling population of cells bearing mature T or B lymphocyte markers. Entry into cell division, however, does not confer colony-forming capacity on lymphocytes. Monocytes are critical to growth of E+ CFC, and cultures severely depleted of monocytes would not be expected to form colonies.

Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity↗

Preclinical re-evaluation of benzaldehyde as a chemotherapeutic agent.

Benzaldehyde (BA), an agent extracted from figs, is reported to have antitumor activity in vitro against a variety of experimental tumors and in vivo against refractory human neoplasms. We employed recently developed in vitro techniques to examine the effect of BA on growth of malignant human cells, and examined its effects in vivo against two human tumor xenografts established from primary specimens. BA showed dose-dependent inhibition of HL60 promyelocytic leukemia cells and normal human granulocyte/macrophage colonies. It showed no in vitro activity against either KG-1 myeloid leukemia cells or chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells grown in colony culture. BA failed to inhibit growth of either HL60 or KG-1 cells in liquid culture, and did not induce differentiation of HL60 cells. When tested against human tumor colony-forming cells from 30 patients with solid tumors, inhibition of colony growth greater than 70% was seen in six patients (20%). BA failed to inhibit the in vivo growth of either the T222 epidermoid carcinoma xenograft or the T380 ovarian carcinoma xenograft. We conclude that BA lacks significant activity against most human tumors tested in these experimental systems.

Animals↗

Comparison of the activity of doxorubicin analogues using colony-forming assays and human xenografts.

The potential use of nude mouse xenografts as a source of human tumor tissue for preclinical assessment of drug activity was examined by a comparison of in vitro sensitivity to four anthracycline derivatives of eight xenografts maintained in nude mice and tumor colony-forming units (CFU) from the xenografts grown in agar. Results obtained in the two systems with doxorubicin (Dx) and a new, closely related derivative (epi-doxorubicin, epi-Dx) correlated well. In vivo tumor growth delay and maximum in vitro tumor CFU kill for these two drugs showed a significant correlation (r = 0.64, P less than .01). Separation of tumors into "sensitive" and "insensitive" tumor populations on the basis of maximum in vitro CFU kill also predicted the in vivo response to these two drugs in 88% of cases. Similar analyses performed on in vitro and in vivo results with two other new anthracyclines (4'-deoxy-doxorubicin, deoxy-Dx and 4'-O-methyl-doxorubicin, O-Me-Dx) showed a significant negative correlation between in vivo and in vitro results; the in vitro system failed to predict in vivo activity of these two drugs. No significant differences in in vitro activity against normal, granulocyte/macrophage progenitors (CFU-GM) or against various tumor CFUs were detected. Thus, the selectivity (activity against normal tissue compared with that against tumor) of the four drugs appeared equal. These data suggest that in vitro screening of drugs using tumor CFUs from nude mouse xenografts may predict the in vivo activity of drugs for which pharmacologic data are available, but illustrate the difficulties in attempting to predict the in vivo activity of new drugs for which no such data are available.

Animals↗

Extensive disease small cell carcinoma of the lung: trial of non-cross resistant chemotherapy and consolidation radiotherapy.

Twenty-nine patients with extensive disease, small-cell carcinoma of the lung, were treated with two cycles of intensive combination chemotherapy: HexaVAC (hexamethylmelamine, vincristine, Adriamycin, cyclophosphamide). Responders received prophylactic cranial radiation (2000 rad/10 fractions) and non cross resistant chemotherapy via a schedule of alternating cycles of CMV (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, VP-16-213) and AMV (Adriamycin, methotrexate, VP-16-213). Whenever a complete response was achieved, consolidation radiotherapy was given to the lung primary (4000 rad/20 fractions, split dose) and abdominal metastases (2000 rad/10 fractions) synchronous with CMV therapy. The complete response rate was 14% with HexaVAC, but increased to 38% during CMV/AMV. Total response rate (complete and partial) was 59% and median survival was 42 weeks. Prophylactic brain radiation prevented clinical relapse in the brain in all 14 patients who received it. However, consolidation radiotherapy failed to prevent clinical relapse in the lung and/or liver, and therapeutic brain radiation (3000 rad) failed to prevent relapse in that site. The simultaneous administration of radiotherapy and chemotherapy was well-tolerated although two patients with poor performance status died of infectious complications while leukopenic. In spite of the high response rate, durable remissions with prolonged disease free survival were rare. Further evaluation of induction, consolidation, and maintenance modes of therapy are indicated.

Adult↗

Colony-forming assay for circulating chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells.

In these studies, we report adaptation of a colony-forming assay to chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) peripheral blood cells. T-lymphocyte-depleted CLL peripheral blood cells were cultured with irradiated, normal T cells and media conditioned by normal, mitogen-stimulated T cells in methylcellulose. Colonies containing small and transformed lymphocytes appeared after 5-7 days incubation. The plating efficiency of CLL colonies was 0.15 +/- 0.08% (x +/- S.D.), similar to that of other colony-forming systems. The majority of CLL colony-forming cells were in S phase (50 +/- 4% x +/- S.E.) as determined by thymidine suicide and the fraction of colony-forming cells in S phase was inversely related to the WBC. Cells harvested from CLL colonies lacked surface markers for T lymphocytes and stained positively for monoclonal surface and/or cytoplasmic immunoglobulin light chains. A 1-h incubation was used to study the in vitro response of CLL colony-forming cells to adriamycin and melphalan. Preliminary studies suggest differences in patterns of in vitro sensitivity to melphalan between patients previously treated with alkylating agents and those who had not received treatment. This system can be used to study regulation of CLL cell proliferation, and may have utility in predicting response to chemotherapeutic agents.

Cell Division↗

Modulation of leukaemia blast colony growth by steroid hormones.

The effect of steroid hormones on in vitro colony growth of human myelogenous leukaemia cells was examined. beta-Oestradiol, testosterone and 5-beta-dihydrotesterone had little effect on HL60 promyelocytic leukaemia cells of blast colony forming cells (CFC) from eight patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia (ANLL). These compounds inhibited blast colony growth at very high concentrations (10(-6)-10(-4) M). In contrast, hydrocortisone (HC) had highly variable effects on blast colony growth. HL60 cells were resistant to HC at concentrations up to 10(-4) M but blast CFC showed a wide range of response. Some patients were resistant to HC at all concentrations treated, while others were inhibited by concentrations as low as 10(-8) M. The inhibitory effect of HC was also observed on 3H-TdR incorporation by stimulated peripheral blood blasts. Inhibition by HC was not blocked by progesterone, suggesting this effect was not mediated by specific hormone receptors. These data indicate differences in the response of blast cells in ANLL and normal progenitors to steroid hormones. Cells from patients with ANLL display variable inhibition by HC which is probably not mediated by specific receptors.

Cell Division↗

Non-cross-resistant chemotherapy and consolidation radiotherapy for small cell carcinoma of the lung.

Fifty-six patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung were treated with a two-cyclic induction course of hexamethylmelamine, vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide. Patients with limited disease (LD) who responded and patients with extensive disease (ED) who had a complete response received prophylactic whole-brain radiotherapy, as well as radiotherapy to thoracic and abdominal sites of disease. Concurrently with radiotherapy, consolidation chemotherapy was given with doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and etoposide. The complete response rate was 35% for ED patients and 68% for LD patients. The median survival time for complete responders was 54 weeks for ED patients and 65 weeks for LD patients. The toxicity of the program was moderate, and the effectiveness was comparable to that of other reported combined-modality treatment programs.

Adult↗

Modulation of 5-fluorouracil toxicity by allopurinol in man.

Oxipurinol, the major metabolite of allopurinol, decreased the toxicity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to human granulocyte colony-forming units in vitro by a factor of four. The ability of allopurinol to reduce 5-FU toxicity in vivo was studied in 23 advanced cancer patients during 42 courses of treatment. 5-FU was administered by continuous intravenous infusion for five days; allopurinol, 300 mg, po, every 8 hours was started 2 hours before and continued during and for 24 hours after 5-FU infusion. 5-FU was escalated from 1.5 to 2.25 g/m2/day on separate courses; the dose-limiting toxicity was mucositis which occurred at a level of 2.0 g/m2/day. At a 5-FU dose rate of greater than 2.0 g/m2/day 5-FU pharmacokinetics were nonlinear, reflecting saturation of catabolic pathways, and the steady-state 5-FU serum concentration was approximately 4 times that which was tolerable without allopurinol. At these concentrations of 5-FU oxipurinol significantly influenced the clearance of 5-FU. Thus concurrent allopurinol therapy permitted a doubling of the maximum tolerated dose of 5-FU and a four-fold increase in the tolerated concentration x time exposure to 5-FU.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Significance of variation in serum thymidine concentration for the marrow toxicity of methotrexate.

Thymidine (dThd) concentrations have been measured in the sera of normal subjects and solid tumor cancer patients by means of a sensitive high-pressure liquid chromatographic assay to determine whether natural and methotrexate (MTX)-induced fluctuations were large enough to alter the toxicity of MTX to marrow. The mean concentration in normal subjects with measurable levels was 1.3 X 10(-7) M (range less than 4 X 10(-8) to 6 X 10(-7) M). In cancer patients it was 2.0 X 10(-7) M (range less than 4 X 10(-8) to 8.7 X 10(-7)), and in malignant effusions 1.2 X 10(-7) M (range less than 4 X 10(-8) to 2.2 X 10(-7) M). The wide range of variation in random samples was also found when multiple samples were obtained from the same patient during a 24-h period where dThd concentration varied from a minimum of two- to greater than six-fold. Treatment with MTX 3 mg/m2 caused an average 59% reduction in serum dThd during the first 24 h after injection during nine courses of therapy. dThd was tested for its ability to modulate the toxicity of MTX to human granulocate colony-forming units in culture across the concentration range found in vivo: changes in dThd concentration equivalent to normal fluctuations in vivo altered colony survival by 31% to greater than 72%. A reduction in culture dThd equivalent to that produced in vivo by high-dose TMX increased colony kill by 25%. The results indicate that in vivo variations in serum dThd are in an appropriate range and of a sufficient magnitude to alter the toxicity of MTX to marrow, and they demonstrate that MTX can modulate its own toxicity by reducing serum dThd.

Blood Proteins↗

Plasma calcitonin as a marker of disease activity in patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung.

To evaluate the usefulness of plasma calcitonin as an index of tumor burden and disease activity, we undertook a prospective study of serial calcitonin measurements in a group of patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung from diagnosis throughout a period of intensive therapy. Plasma calcitonin was significantly elevated in 84% of patients with extensive small cell carcinoma of the lung and was not elevated in patients with limited disease at the time of diagnosis. The elevated values fell significantly in response to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and reflected regression of followable disease and improvement in clinical status. A significant correlation existed between plasma calcitonin and extent of disease. Relapse was generally associated with an increase in elevated plasma calcitonin levels, and calcitonin appeared to reflect tumor burden. The serial measurement of plasma calcitonin is useful in the management of the patient with small cell carcinoma of the lung.

Calcitonin↗

Acidic isoferritins (leukemia-associated inhibitory activity) fail to inhibit blast proliferation in acute myelogenous leukemia.

Cell-free extracts of bone marrow and blood cells from patients with leukemia contain an inhibitor of normal granulocyte/macrophage progenitor (CFU-GM) proliferation (leukemia-associated inhibitory activity, LIA) identified as acidic isoferritins. A comparison was made of the action of crude LIA prepared from frozen-thawed leukemic blood cells and purified spleen ferritin from a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia, on the proliferation of blast progenitors from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and on the promyelocytic leukemia cell line, HL-60. Crude LIA showed no inhibition of blast progenitor or HL-60 proliferation at low concentrations, but inhibited the proliferation of CFU-GM. At higher concentrations, crude LIA inhibited both blast cells and CFU-GM. Purified spleen ferritin failed to inhibit blast progenitors or HL-60 cells at any concentration tested, but inhibited both 70-day and 14-day CFU-GM. Using the thymidine "suicide" technique, the action of LIA was confirmed as being on CFU-GM in S-phase, but it failed to affect the proliferation of blast cell in S-phase. It is concluded that acidic isoferritins inhibit normal CFU-GM but not blast cells from patients with AML. Acidic isoferritins could confer a proliferative advantage of the leukemic clone over its normal counterparts.

Cell Differentiation↗

In vitro growth and drug sensitivity of tumor colony-forming units from human tumor xenografts.

To investigate the feasibility of using tissue obtained from human tumor xenografts for in vitro screening of antineoplastic agents, we grew human tumor colony-forming units (CFU) in semisold agar from xenografts serially passaged in nude mice. Growth of human tumor CFU was accomplished from nine xenografts representing five different histological tumor types (ovarian carcinoma, adenocarcinoma of the colon, malignant melanoma, epidermoid carcinoma of the lung, and malignant astrocytoma). Cloning efficiency ranged from 0.04 to 0.1% and showed significant variability both between tumor types and between individual animals bearing the same type of xenograft. A high percentage of tumor CFU was in S phase [47 +/- 20% (S.D.)] as determined by the thymidine "suicide" technique. The number of tumor CFU observed increased linearly with increasing numbers of cells plated. In vitro drug sensitivity of the tumor CFU was assessed to Adriamycin, cis-platinum, and melphalan. The patterns of drug sensitivity were found to be reproducible and stable over a period of 9 months. Drug sensitivity curves to Adriamycin for five xenografts representing four tumor types showed complex patterns with plateau portions similar to those described for tumor CFU from primary tumors. The rank order of sensitivity of the tumors was compared to that of normal granulocyte-macrophage progenitors and, with the exception of the melanomas, was found to correlate well with clinical experience (order of sensitivity = colon less than ovary less than bone marrow). Growth of human tumor CFU from xenografts represents a reproducible and stable means for the study of the biology of tumor CFU and has potential applications as a means for screening new anticancer agents.

Animals↗

In vitro evidence for an unusual progenitor cell in acute monocytic leukemia.

The peripheral blood of 2 patients with acute monocytic leukemia of the undifferentiated type was studied for the presence of leukemic progenitor cells in colony forming assays. The peripheral blood of both patients contained only one type of progenitor cell as determined with these assay systems. Daughter cells of these progenitor cells morphologically and histochemically resembled monoblasts and immature macrophages. Similar progenitor cells were not encountered in the study of 5 patients with acute myelogenous leukemia whose peripheral blood cells formed colonies in the same system. The finding of this unusual progenitor cell supports the existence of acute monocytic leukemia as a separate clinicopathologic entity, and suggests that it represents a malignant transformation of a progenitor cell of the monocyte/macrophage series. An alternative explanation of these observations would be provided by single phenotypic expressions of a multi-potent stem cell which has undergone malignant transformation.

Aged↗

Effect of interferon on colony formation in culture by blast cell progenitors in acute myeloblastic leukemia.

The effect of purified human fibroblast interferon on primary and secondary colony formation by blast progenitors from the peripheral blood of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia was examined. Interferon inhibited blast progenitors and normal granulocyte/macrophage progenitors (CFU-C) in a dose-dependent manner. The magnitude of this effect on blast progenitors and CFU was similar. Interferon also inhibited secondary plating of blast progenitors (self-renewal). This effect was in marked contrast to the effect of adriamycin, which reduced primary plating efficiency of blast progenitors but did not affect self-renewal. Inhibition of blast progenitor proliferation by interferon was markedly reduced when interferon was added after 24 hr of culture and was absent when added after 72 hr. Inhibition of self-renewal was observed even when interferon was added at 72 hr. We conclude that interferon inhibits both primary proliferation and self-renewal of blast progenitors and that this effect is not due to reduction in the number of primary colonies. These experiments provide an example of how cell culture techniques may be used to test antitumor agents for effects on important cellular events other than general cytotoxicity.

Cell Differentiation↗

Modulation of normal and abnormal myeloid progenitor proliferation by cyclic nucleotides and PGE1.

The effects of cyclic nucleotides and PGE1 upon the proliferation of normal granulocyte/macrophage progenitors were examined in in vitro systems and contrasted to the effects of these compounds on (1) granulocyte/macrophage progenitors from the peripheral blood of patients with myeolofibrosis/myeloid metaplasia (MF) and chronic myelogeneous leukemia (CML); and (2) blast progenitors from the peripheral blood of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute monocytic leukemia (AMoL). Cyclic AMP was found to be a concentration dependent inhibitor of colony proliferation in all systems tested. Cyclic GMP was an inconsistent enhancer of colony proliferation in all systems in a manner which was not clearly concentration dependent. The effect of PGE1 in normal systems was highly variable depending on the culture conditions, but it was generally found to be an inhibitor of colony proliferation. Cyclic AMP, cyclic GMP and PGE1 altered the release of colony stimulating activity from adherent bone marrow cells in a manner opposite to the direct effects of these compounds on progenitor cell proliferation. Abnormalities in response to PGE1 were found in progenitors from patients with CML (deficient inhibition), AMoL (stimulation of proliferation in certain concentration ranges), and MF (enhanced proliferation). Studies on one of the patients with MF indicated that a normally responding population could be defined by density-gradient separation. These data confirm the capacity of these compounds to modulate in vitro proliferation of myeloid progenitors, and suggest that aberrations of response to PGE1 may occur in subpopulations of cells from several myeloproliferative disorders.

Cell Division↗