[Usefulness of a novel Blastretriever for harvesting blasts]

Usefulness of a novel reagent(Blastretriever) for harvesting blasts was evaluated. Ten minutes centrifugation using this reagent yielded cell fractions rich in blast from all samples including peripheral blood(PB) and bone marrow of patients with varying hematologic malignancies(n = 40). When 10 PB samples containing less than 2% blasts were subjected to this centrifugation, on average, the harvested fractions contained 75% blasts with good viability and well preserved morphology. The harvested blasts could be investigated by flow cytometry, cytochemistry, immunocytochemistry, chromosomal analysis(G-banding and fluorescence in situ hybridization) and gene analysis(Southern blotting and polymerase chain reaction). This new reagent should provide valuable information for the management and pathophysiology of hematologic malignancies.