Abstract:
The problem. This study determined the effect of leucogenenol, an untried immunostimulant, in conjunction with known effective chemotherapy on mouse leukemia L1210.
Procedure. L1210 infected animals in various treatment groups were monitored for changes in several parameters of the disease. Among these parameters were differential smears, hematocrits, total nucleated cell counts, spleen and liver weights to total body weight ratios and survival times.
Findings. Although some of the parameters of the leukemia were decreased after leucogenenol therapy, a minimal detrimental effect was observed in the survival times of the animals. The humoral antibody levels were elevated after leucogenenol and chemotherapeutic treatment, but these were obviously not effective in controlling the number of proliferating L1210 leukemic cells.
Conclusion. It was concluded that leucogenenol was able to increase the humoral antibody response but not the number of sensitized lymphocytes such that the residual leukemic cells could be destroyed immunologically. Hence, even in combination with chemotherapy, leucogenenol's action could not turn the race between the residual leukemic cells and sensitized lymphocytes in favor of the host.
Recommendations. The recent demonstration of immunological enhancement of a tumor by humoral antibodies makes it important to determine if leucogenenol's action is specific for the B lymphoid cells or does it affect both the B and T lymphoid cells? A method for determining the molecular action of leucogenenol might lead to a greater understanding of the control of hematopoiesis and leukemias.
