Altered transcription of the c-abl oncogene in K-562 and other chronic myelogenous leukemia cells.

Expression of the cellular abl (c- abl ) oncogene was studied in K-562 and other chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells and cell lines by means of Northern blot hybridization. In contrast to non-CML cells, which contained 7.4- and 6.8-kilobase abl -related transcripts, the CML cells contained a predominant and novel 8.2-kilobase abl -related RNA. In addition, the levels of abl -related message were up to eight times higher in CML cell lines from patients at the blast crisis stage of the disease compared with CML cells obtained during the chronic phase and with non-CML cells.

Establishment of an Epstein-Barr virus-determined nuclear antigen-negative human B-cell line from acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A human B-cell line designated as BALL-1 was established from the peripheral blood of a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Neither Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) particles nor EBV-determined nuclear antigen (EBNA) was detectable. The morphologic and growth characteristics were clearly distinct from those of numerous EBV-positive lymphoblastoid cell lines previously reported. BALL-1 cells probably originated from the donor's leukemia cells as judged from their cytogenetic, morphologic, and surface features. The BALL-1 line was the first EBNA-negative B-cell line established from ALL.

Novel t(15;19)(q15;p13) chromosome abnormality in a thymic carcinoma.

A 22-year-old female with a thymic carcinoma is reported. The tumor was refractory to both chemotherapy and irradiation. The patient died with an aggressive clinical course. Cytogenetic study showed that the tumor cells had a chromosome translocation, t(15;19)(q15;p13), which was not identified previously in human cancer.

Molecular cloning of the chromosomal breakpoint of a B-cell lymphoma with the t(11;14)(q23;q32) translocation.

The breakpoint of t(11;14)(q23;q32) chromosome translocation in a B-cell lymphoma line, RC-K8, was cloned. Immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) constant gene, C gamma 2 at the 5' end, was involved in this translocation, and the DNA segment juxtaposed to the C gamma 2 was proved to be derived from chromosome 11 by somatic cell hybrid study. The normal counterpart of chromosome 11 was also isolated. With a DNA probe near the breakpoint of chromosome 11, Southern blot analysis of RC-K8 and 10 other cases with translocation involving the 11q23 region was conducted, but no rearrangement bands have been observed thus far except for RC-K8.

Frequent loss of heterozygosity on the long arm of chromosome 6: identification of two distinct regions of deletion in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Cytogenetic analysis of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) identified nonrandom chromosomal abnormalities of the long arm of chromosome 6. Most of the alterations are deletions that are thought to be indicative of the presence of a tumor suppressor gene that is mutated on the remaining allele. These observations led us to consider whether 6q loss may contribute to the pathogenesis of childhood ALL. To define further a region containing this gene, we analyzed the loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of chromosome 6 in 113 primary ALL samples with matched normal DNA using 34 highly informative microsatellite markers. LOH was found in 17 (15%) samples at one or more of the loci, and partial or interstitial deletions of 6q were detected in 11 of these tumors. On the basis of these results, we performed a detailed deletional map and identified two distinct regions of deletion. The first region is flanked by D6S283 and D6S302 loci at 6q21-22. The second region is flanked by D6S275 and D6S283 loci at 6q21. Clinical analysis determined that LOH of 6q was demonstrated both in precursor-B cell ALLs (15 of 93; 16%) and in T cell ALLs (2 of 19; 11%). In addition, 19 patients have been studied at diagnosis and relapse; 18 showed the same 6q21-22 structural abnormality at relapse (normal, 16 patients; LOH, 2 patients) as their initial presentation, suggesting, albeit with a small patient sample size, that 6q21-22 deletions may be an initial event in leukemogenesis and may occur less frequently during the progression of childhood ALL. These data suggest the presence of putative tumor suppressor genes on chromosome arm 6q that are important in the development of both T and precursor-B childhood ALLs. Our map provides important information toward cloning putative ALL tumor suppressor genes.

A Ki-1 (CD30)-positive T (E+, CD4+, Ia+)-cell line, DL-40, established from aggressive large cell lymphoma.

A new human lymphoma cell line, designated DL-40, was established from the peripheral blood of a 64-year-old woman with leukemic conversion of aggressive large cell lymphoma. The cell line grew in suspension with or without forming clumps of cells and exhibited large, round, or multiple nuclei in the relatively abundant cytoplasm that was positive for acid phosphatase. The cells expressed a Ki-1 antigen (CD30), E+, CD2+, CD4+, CD45+, Ia+ phenotype and had rearranged T-cell receptor beta chain but were negative for CD15, HTLV-I, and Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen. Chromosome analysis of this cell line showed a human female karyotype with complex hyperdiploid abnormalities. DL-40 cells produced tumors histologically similar to the original lymphoma when transplanted into nude mice and immunosuppressed hamsters. The DL-40 cell line could provide a useful tool for the understanding of biology of the Ki-1-positive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Gene rearrangement and overexpression of PRAD1 in lymphoid malignancy with t(11;14)(q13;q32) translocation.

The proto-oncogene PRAD1 (parathyroid adenoma 1) on chromosome 11q13 was found to be overexpressed in all five B-cell lines with t(11;14)(q13;q32) translocation tested. One B-cell lymphoma and four myeloma cell lines with this translocation demonstrated more than 10-fold overexpression as determined by Northern blot analysis, when compared with normal lymphoid tissues such as thymus, spleen and lymph node. Hematopoietic cell lines without the translocation were also examined, but none of these demonstrated the overexpression, confirming that overexpression of the PRAD1 gene is associated with t(11;14) translocation. A truncated form of mRNA was seen in one of five cell lines with the translocation, SP-49. Hybridization with different regions of the PRAD1 cDNA revealed that the truncated form of mRNA retained the coding region but had lost the 3' untranslated region. Southern blot analysis demonstrated a gene rearrangement in this SP-49 cell line. To study the genetic alteration responsible for the truncated form of mRNA in this cell line, the rearranged allele as well as the germline allele were cloned. The restriction map revealed that the rearranged portion was at the 3' end of the PRAD1 gene, eliminating the mRNA-destabilizing signal AUUUA. Human-rodent hybrid cell analysis demonstrated that the region introduced 3' of PRAD1 was derived from chromosome 11, suggesting that the PRAD1 gene region is deleted at the 3' end. Over-expression of the PRAD1 gene in association with t(11;14)(q13;q32) translocation suggested that in these cases the regulation of PRAD1 was altered by the juxtaposed gene, most likely the immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene from chromosome 14.

Expression of the candidate Wilm's tumor gene, WT1, in human leukemia cells.

Wilms' tumor (WT) is a pediatric malignancy that occurs in embryonic kidney. Recently, a putative Wilms' tumor gene (WT1), located on chromosome 11p13, was isolated and characterized. We found constitutive expression of WT1 mRNA in eight out of 22 hematopoietic cell lines and seven out of 26 clinical samples which were derived from patients with various types of hematologic malignancies. WT1 mRNA was detected in four out of six myeloid cell lines, four out of 10 cases of acute myelocytic leukemia, three out of 15 lymphoid cell lines, one out of nine cases of lymphoid malignancies, and one out of six cases of chronic myelocytic leukemia in accelerated phase and blast crisis. One unclassified hematopoietic cell line and a case of myelodysplastic syndrome also expressed WT1 mRNA. No mutations were detectable in the cell lines by Southern blot analysis and a polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis in the four zinc finger domains of the WT1 gene. These results suggest that WT1 gene is expressed in several types of immature lymphoid or myeloid leukemia cells possibly without alterations of the WT1 gene.

Angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with disseminated human herpesvirus 6 infection in a patient with acute myeloblastic leukemia.

A 47-year-old man with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) developed angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia (AILD) 4 months after induction chemotherapy for AML. During a leukopenic period, the patient suffered from pericarditis with massive pericardial effusion in which human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) DNA was detected. Although complete remission of AML was achieved, fever persisted and atypical skin rash followed by generalized lymphadenopathy along with polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia appeared. A diagnosis of AILD was made on a biopsy specimen of the inguinal lymph node. The patient died of fulminant hepatitis and the autopsy showed lymphomatous infiltrates involving the liver, bone marrow, lungs, spleen, kidneys and heart. HHV-6 DNA sequences were identified in the biopsy specimen of the lymph node and in the involved organ tissues. HHV-6 in this patient was variant B. It is known that HHV-6 can be reactivated in immunocompromised patients and causes severe complications. This unusual clinical course suggests that the immunosuppression associated with AML and the additional iatrogenic immunosuppression following cytopenia-inducing chemotherapy predisposed the patient to reactivated HHV-6 infection. The sequential detection of this virus before and after manifestation of AILD may support the evidence that HHV-6 infection could directly or indirectly trigger AILD. This is the first time that such a sequence of events has been reported to our knowledge. The possibility of HHV-6 infection should be considered when unexplained fever and generalized lymphadenopathy are seen in patients with leukemia, and administration of antiviral agents should be considered for the diagnostic evaluation.

Analysis of the Smad2 gene in hematological malignancies.

A total of 34 leukemia and lymphoma samples (17 clinical samples and 17 cell lines) were analyzed for mutations of the Smad2 gene by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction single strand conformation polymorphism (RT-PCR-SSCP) analysis. Nine of the 34 samples had 18q chromosomal abnormalities. No shifted bands were detected in any of the hematological malignancies. Our results suggest that resistance to cell growth inhibitory effects of TGF-beta in hematological malignancies is not due to alterations of the Smad2 gene.

Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia: establishment of a new cell line (MKPL-1) in vitro and in vivo.

A megakaryoblastic cell line (MKPL-1) was newly established from the bone marrow of an adult patient with acute megakaryoblastic leukemia. This cell line grew in single cell suspension with a doubling time of 30 h and consisted of large primitive blasts with persistent development of giant cells carrying multilobed nuclei. MKPL-1 cells were positive for platelet GPIIb/IIIa (CD41) and GPIIIa (CD61), and expressed OKM5 (CD36), MY7 (CD13), and MY9 (CD33) antigens in the absence of erythroid and lymphoid markers. The cytochemical and morphologic characteristics of MKPL-1 were also consistent with those of megakaryoblasts. The cells did not, however, express ultrastructural platelet peroxidase which is considered to be another marker of the megakaryocytic lineage. Cytogenetic analysis of MKPL-1 revealed a model chromosome number of 92 with abnormal chromosomes including those found in the patient's bone marrow cells. Furthermore, MKPL-1 cells were serially transplanted into nude mice for nine passages with production of lethal tumors and leukemic manifestation. Thus, our megakaryoblastic cell line which can be maintained both in vitro and in vivo would be useful for further studies of the biology of megakaryopoiesis and megakaryoblastic leukemia.

Gastric lymphoma associated with human T-cell leukemia virus type I.

A 41-year-old woman presented with a gastric lymphoma. A total gastrectomy was performed, and the tumor was found to consist of T cells of the helper/inducer (E+, Leu-1+, Leu-2a-, Leu-3a+) phenotype. The patient was seropositive for T-cell leukemia virus type I, and the tumor cells contained the proviral genome.

A plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 from a promyelocytic leukemia cell line, PL-21, binds to the carboxy-terminal chain of plasminogen activators.

A promyelocytic leukemia cell line, PL-21, was found to produce an inhibitor of plasminogen activators (PAI). The PAI reacted to anti-PAI-2 but not anti-PAI-1 anti-serum and had an apparent molecular weight of 43 kDa on unreduced SDS-PAGE. The PAI inhibited not only urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) but single- and two-chain tissue-type plasminogen activators (t-PAs) on plasminogen-containing fibrin plate. It formed SDS-stable complexes with both t-PA and u-PA but not with prourokinase as demonstrated by both fibrin zymography and immunoblotting using anti-PA and anti-PAI-2 antisera after SDS-PAGE. These complexes were still present even after reduction with dithiothreitol. The PAI appears to bind to the carboxy-terminal chain of both PAs, because the part of the band corresponding to the carboxy-terminal chain of PAs moved to an upper position as a result of complex formation when two-chain form of PAs were incubated with the PAI and analyzed by SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting.

Establishment and characterization of two hamster macrophage cell lines.

Two hamster macrophage cell lines (HM-1 and HM-2) were established in vitro from lymphoid tumors produced in hamsters by direct implantation of normal human umbilical cord leukocytes. Despite long-term culture, both cell lines maintained the morphological, functional and surface characteristics of normal macrophages. It is considered that these cell lines were derived from host macrophages infiltrating the heterotransplants.

Epithelioid sarcoma producing granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

An epithelioid sarcoma of the perineum of a 60-year-old man with widespread metastases produced leukocytosis, myeloid hyperplasia of the bone marrow, and splenomegaly. High titers of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) were found in the patient's serum and primary culture medium of the tumor tissue. The tumor tissue extract contained m-RNA for G-CSF in large quantities, proving that the tumor was the source of this cytokine.

Electron microscopic and immunohistochemical observations of differentiation of human myeloid leukemia line, PL-21.

A new human myeloid leukemia cell line, PL-21, consisting of promyelocytes, was microscopically and immunohistochemically studied for their maturation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and retinoic acid (RA). More than 80% of PL-21 cells cultured for 4 days with 10 ng/ml of TPA became macrophage-like cells with functional and histochemical properties consistent with monocytes/macrophages. The cells adhered to the plastic flask, developed phagocytic activity and macrophage-specific intracytoplasmic alpha subunit of S-100 protein, and had reduced myeloid-specific cytochemical markers. In contrast, RA-treated PL-21 cells displayed mature neutrophil-like morphology after 7 days of exposure. Most of the cells had reduced nitro blue tetrazolium and acquired phagocytic activity with persistence of myeloid-specific cytochemical markers such as peroxidase, naphthol-AS-D chloroacetate esterase, and Sudan black B. These results indicate that the PL-21 cell line ca be induced to mature into two directions of macrophages and neutrophils by chemical inducers, and will provide a useful tool for studying the differentiation of leukemic cells and searching for other differentiation inducers.

Marker profiles of human leukemia and lymphoma cell lines.

By means of the multiple marker analysis, a total of 55 human leukemia-lymphoma cell lines which included 15 T-cell, 30 B-cell, four myelomonocytic-cell, and six non-T, non-B cell lines was characterized for their marker profiles. The multiple markers used included a number of cell surface markers as detected by either rosette or immunofluorescence tests, enzyme assays, cytogenetic analysis, and certain functional assay. Based on the criteria previously defined it was found that all the cell lines were proved to represent original leukemia-lymphoma of ALL, AML, CLL, CML in blastic phase or variety of lymphomas. The monoclonality, a "frozen" state at a specific state of differentiation-maturation, and cytogenetic marker in each leukemia-lymphoma cell line were remarkable common properties and were stable for years of cultivation. Similar, if not identical, general characteristics were observed in the study on 344 cases of uncultured fresh leukemia-lymphomas by the multiple marker analysis. While no single marker specific to any type of tumor was found, the study offers not only a basis for better understanding of the biology of leukemia-lymphoma but also an insight into normal hematopoietic cell differentiation in man.

Granulocytic sarcoma presenting as a mediastinal tumor. Report of a case and cytological and cytochemical studies of tumor cells in vivo and in vitro.

An unusual case of granulocytic sarcoma in a 23-year-old man is reported. The patient initially presented with mediastinal tumor and was diagnosed clinically as having thymoma. The patient was treated by radiotherapy and surgical removal of the tumor. Histology of the excised tumor had been nondiagnostic because of extensive fibrous changes. Eight months later, the patient developed pleural effusion on the right, which soon was followed by blood and bone marrow pictures consistent with acute promyelocytic leukemia. In vitro culture of pleural effusion cells unexpectedly gave rise to a continuously growing peroxidase-positive myeloid cell line. Autopsy revealed the recurrent mediastinal tumor to be positive for intracytoplasmic naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase and lysozyme activity. From these findings, the patient retrospectively was diagnosed as having mediastinal granulocytic sarcoma, which terminated in pleural effusion and acute promyelocytic leukemia.

An HTLV-I carrier with Graves' disease followed by uveitis: isolation of HTLV-I from thyroid tissue.

We report a long-term (14-year) follow-up of a human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-infected male who was successively afflicted with Graves' disease followed by uveitis. HTLV-I proviral DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in the thyroid tissue and HTLV-I was isolated from thyroid tissue by coculture with peripheral blood lymphocytes from an HTLV-I-uninfected healthy female. This case study supports a close relationship between Graves' disease and uveitis in an HTLV-I carrier.

Establishment of B-lymphoid cell lines retaining cytogenetic characteristics of Bloom syndrome.

The present study describes the establishment of and chromosomal changes in B-lymphoid cell lines from cells of Bloom syndrome (BS) patients using Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Even though PHA-stimulated BS lymphocytes from all five patients studied showed high levels of sister chromatid exchange (SCE), three EBV-transformed BS-B-lymphoid cell lines had normal levels of SCE and two yielded two types of cell populations, i.e., one with increased SCE and chromosome instability (including breaks and quadriradials) and another with normal levels of SCE and without structural aberrations. The karyotypic abnormalities, as observed in the BS lines have not been seen in the cells of any established normal B-lymphoid lines transformed by EBV and strongly suggest that the chromosome abnormalities in the BS--B-cell lines with abnormal karyotypes originated in vivo and not through an in vitro effect of EBV. Furthermore, in the EBV-transformed B-cell lines, we found quadriradial formation between sister chromosomes during endomitoses instead of between homologous chromosomes, strongly suggesting that quadriradial formation may be closely related to SCE. The coexistence in BS subjects of abnormal and normal populations of cells with respect to the number of SCE awaits explanation.