A study on the mesothelial cell kinetics in pleural effusions by DNA cytophotometry and autoradiography with...

On 34 samples of pleural fluid a cell kinetic study of mesothelial cells was carried out by Feulgen-DNA cytophotometry and the autoradiographic estimation of 3H-thymidine uptake. The generation time of mesothelial cells in malignant effusions was found to be shorter than in non-malignant ones, thought he cellular activity for both effusions was essentially the same. Furthermore, with the development of complicating pleuritis from the early stage to the fibrino-fibrous stage, the appearance rate of 3H-thymidine labeled and activated mesothelial cells in the DNA synthetic phase changed quite differently in both effusions. The differences were thought to be due to neoplastic invasion itself or inflammatory reactions to the neoplastic growth.