Elimination of leukemic cells from rat bone marrow using antibody and complement

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Hematology
• Oncology

Background:

• Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (CI-3) is a transplantable cancer in Wistar/Furth rats.
• Effective methods are needed to eliminate leukemia cells from bone marrow grafts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an antibody and complement-based method to eliminate CI-3 leukemia cells from syngeneic bone marrow.
• To assess the efficacy and safety of this purging method in an animal model.

Main Methods:

• Raising antiserum in rabbits against CI-3 leukemia cells.
• Treating mixtures of leukemia cells and bone marrow with absorbed antibody and complement in vitro.
• Evaluating the effect of treatment on leukemia cell viability and bone marrow's ability to reconstitute irradiated rats.

Main Results:

• Antibody and complement treatment destroyed approximately 3 logs of CI-3 leukemia cells in vitro.
• Treatment did not impair the ability of Wistar-Furth bone marrow to reconstitute lethally irradiated rats.
• Rats receiving antibody and complement-treated bone marrow showed a 48% survival rate compared to leukemia development in controls.

Conclusions:

• Antibody and complement treatment effectively eliminates a significant number of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia cells.
• This immunologic approach is a viable strategy for purging leukemia cells from bone marrow, preserving its hematopoietic stem cell function.