Edwin D. Bayrd

Ultrastructure of the myeloma cell

An evaluation of the ultrastructure of the myeloma cell in 19 cases confirms its marked pleomorphism. It ranges from a cell indistinguishable from the normal plasmacyte or its precursors to a cell with clearly abnormal configuration. Abnormal features included abnormalities in size and shape of the cell, nucleus, nucleolus and mitochondria; nucleocytoplasmic asynchronism; disorganization, atypical location and hypertrophy of the Golgi apparatus; and the presence of multiple centrioles. Six types of arrangement of the endoplasmic reticulum were differentiated. In certain cases there were cells with seemingly intermediate features between the lymphocyte or the reticulum cell and the plasma‐myeloma cell. Intranuclear and different types of cytoplasmic dense (osmiophilic) bodies were observed. These bodies likely represent condensed protein and some may be lysosomes. Some morphologic features suggest that the Golgi apparatus plays a role in the condensing process. The myeloma cell releases its secretion mainly by clasmatosis or cytoplasmic fragmentation.

A hypoglycemic factor in leukemic tumors.

Summary A fall in blood sugar was observed in AKR mice inoculated with leukemic tumor BW5147. Marked amelioration of diabetes resulted from inoculation of alloxanized AKR mice with lymphatic leukemic tumor. Growth of this tumor was studied in normal and diabetic mice. Rate of tumor growth and blood sugar values were correlated. Increase in mass of tumor alone did not seem to explain hypoglycemia in these mice. Consequently, 3 extracts of tumor were made and tested for presence of a hypoglycemic factor. Blood sugar values of diabetic mice were determined before and after injection of tumor extracts. A saline extract did not show a hypoglycemic effect, nor did an extract made by insulin-extraction procedure. An acetone extract, however, exhibited moderate hypoglycemic activity. Time-response curves demonstrated that acetone-extractable material derived from 1 g of fresh tumor produced a fall in blood sugar of 7% at 15 minutes, 30% at 30 minutes, 25% at 1 hour, and 7% at 2 hours.

Picric acid staining of serum paraproteins

Abstract The picric acid stainability of globulins on paper electrophoretic strips was investigated in serum from 196 patients. In 5 of the 22 with multiple myeloma the globulins did not stain. But all of the 10 samples from patients with macroglobulinemia, 12 of the 40 from patients with liver disease, five of the 18 from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, three of the 11 from patients with lupus erythematosus, and 25 of the 95 from patients with miscellaneous diseases were strongly positive for globulin staining by picric acid. The degree of staining seemed to correlate with the concentration of γ-globulins more closely than with the type of disease.