Dane R. Boggs

Bone marrow colonies, stimulation in vitro by supernatant from incubated human blood cells.

A substance which stimulates growth of granulocytic and mononuclear cell colonies from mouse and human bone marrow was produced by incubated human blood cells. It is resistant to heat and freezing and is not dialyzable. Intact irradiated and unirradiated cells had very little activity, and sonically disrupted cells had no activity. The addition of plasma or sonically disrupted cells to the cell supernatant decreased its activity.

A syndrome resembling idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in 10 patients with diverse forms of cancer

Ten patients with diverse forms of carcinoma (six patients) and of cancer in the lymphoid system (four patients) presented with or subsequently had a syndrome resembling idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). These patients were older than patients who had ITP alone. ITP was coincident with a diagnosis of cancer (three patients), preceded a diagnosis of cancer (three patients) or followed a diagnosis of cancer (four patients). No patients responded to steroid therapy permanently. Therefore, the course of our patients was fairly typical of ITP in the adult. Since we found nine patients with cancer in a survey of 52 consecutive patients with ITP in the adult population admitted to one hospital, this diagnosis may be missed with some frequency; the development of thrombocytopenia being attributed to other causes.

The development of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma following therapy for Hodgkin's disease

Three patients developed non‐Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) 3–6 years after treatment for Hodgkins disease (HD). In no instance was there evidence of recurrence of HD following the initial chemotherapy or radiotherapy. None of these patients had received both radiation therapy and chemotherapy. The histologic classification of the developing NHL for the three patients was (1) diffuse, poorly differentiated lymphocytic, (2) nodular histocytic, and (3) nodular, poorly differentiated lymphocytic. In no instance was there any histologic similarity to the original HD. Perhaps most important with respect to histology was the easily demonstrable presence of Reed‐Sternberg cells at the time of original diagnosis and their absence with onset of NHL. All patients responded well to conventional chemotherapy for NHL and are alive at 23+, 37+, and 65+ months after that secondary diagnosis. This report, when coupled with at least ten other such reported patients, suggests that NHL may be a relatively uncommon but significant complication of therapy for HD and must be distinguished from recurrence of HD.

Reduced blood and marrow neutrophils and granulocytic colony-forming cells in sl/sld mice.

Summary The Sl/Sld mouse has been shown to have anemia and reduced megakaryocytes, but neutrophil levels in blood and marrow have not been studied previously to our knowledge. It proved to be neutropenic with reduced neutrophils and neutrophil precursors in marrow. The concentration of marrow cells forming granulocytic colonies in semisolid media was normal in young mice, but the total number per humerus was reduced. In vitro growth appeared normal in both semisolid and liquid culture, and peritoneal cells produced colony-stimulating activity normally. These results are compatible with previous studies indicating the Sl/Sld defect lies in the hematopoietic microenvironment rather than being a primary cellular defect, and suggest feedout from the pluripotent stem cell compartment may be reduced.

Spinal cord involvement in leukemia: A review of the literature and a case of Ph1 + acute myeloid leukemia presenting with a conus medullaris syndrome

A 21‐year‐old male with Ph1 positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) became constipated, experienced pain in the sacral area and retained urine. These were the principle presenting complaints of his disease. With local radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy, all neurologic symptoms and signs disappeared within three days. A conus medullaris syndrome is uncommon in leukemia, as we were able to find only three other such patients in the literature and three others with the closely related cauda equina syndrome. A literature review of spinal cord involvement in leukemia in general revealed 67 reasonably well‐described cases. Compilation of data from these suggests it is most often seen in patients with AML and that it is most common in the second decade of life. Tumors extrinsic to but compressing the cord are the most common finding and the thoracic cord is the most common site of involvement.

The Effect of Graded, Single Doses of Busulfan on Murine Erythropoiesis

Summary The effect of busulfan on murine erythropoiesis was studied following doses ranging from 10 to 100 mg/kg. The degree of depression of erythropoiesis was directly proportional to the dose of busulfan, as measured by hematocrit changes or by uptake of radioactive iron by spleen and marrow. The pattern of postbusulfan erythropoiesis was different from that seen after sublethal doses of whole body irradiation in some respects in that an abortive wave of erythropoiesis occurred in both marrow and spleen prior to onset of a more substantially sustained erythropoietic recovery. The pattern was like that following radiation in that the degree of reduction of erythropoiesis was directly related to dose as was the interval of time prior to onset of final recovery. In the spleen, this interval was 1 day per 20 mg/kg and in the marrow 0.5 days per 20 mg/kg.

Klinefelter's syndrome, LSD usage and acute lymphoblastic leukemia

A 19‐year‐old boy, with Klinefelters syndrome and a history of LSD usage, developed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The possibility is discussed that this was caused by cytogenetic injuries subsequent to LSD exposure and the inherited chromosomal anomaly acting in concert.

Hematopoiesis and aging v. a decline in hematocrit occurs in all aging female b6d2f1 mice

Longitudinal studies of hematocrits were done in aging B6D2F1 female mice at 54, 64, 91, 105 and 115 weeks of age. A modest decline in hematocrit was observed in 41/42 mice; we have previously shown that the decreased hematocrit of aged as compared to young mice is due to an expansion of plasma volume. Mice which died spontaneously after 91 weeks had lower hematocrits at 91 weeks and 105 weeks than did those which survived to 115 weeks. At each time interval, a sub-group of mice was killed and uptake of 59Fe into blood, foreleg, spleen and liver was studied and total nucleated cells per humerus was determined. The results were generally compatible with the thesis that aging mice maintain normal rates of erythropoiesis under basal conditions. Thus, it would appear that a decrease in hematocrit can be considered an expected part of the aging process in this mouse.

Reduction of Busulfan-Induced Granulocytopoietic Toxicity in Mice by Postbusulfan Injection of Endotoxin

Abstract Busulfan produces profound and prolonged hematopoietic depression in mice. However, the decline in pluripotent cell compartments such as those forming spleen colonies (CFU-S) is much more precipitate than the decline in their progeny such as cells forming colonies in methylcellulose (CFU-C) or in granulocytes. Endotoxin was given immediately following a single 60 mg/kg dose of busulfan in order to determine its influence upon the subsequent decline and recovery of CFU-C, total nucleated cells, and marrow granulocytes/humerus. There was no effect on the rate of decline for 3 days following busulfan. However, the decline slowed in endotoxin treated mice on the 4th day and all three values were significantly higher than in controls on Day 5, the nadir for controls. Controls had an abortive recovery evident by Day 7. At this time endotoxin treated mice had higher values than in controls for total nucleated cells and granulocytes, but not for CFU-C. By Day 9, no further effect of endotoxin could be demonstrated. This effect is similar to that of androgenic steroids on the granulocytic system of busulfan-treated mice. The simplest explanation for the effect is to suggest that CFU-C are capable of self-replication and that endotoxin stimulates this self-replication.