Tognella S

[Effects of Hodgkin cytotoxic serum on electrophoretic mobility of normal and Hodgkin peripheral blood lymphocytes. (author's transl)].

The effect of Hodgkin patient cytotoxic sera on the electrophoretic mobility of normal and Hodgkin peripheral blood allo-lymphocytes has been studied. Contact with cytotoxic serum determined a significant decrease in the electrophoretic mobility of lymphocytes, due to the presence of cytotoxic antibody on the lymphocyte surface. The antibody seems to be directed against T-lymphocytes. The results are discussed in the light of the preceding data by the authors on the role of anti-T-autoantibodies in Hodgkins disease.

Effects of Hodgkin cytotoxic serum on blast transformation of normal and Hodgkin human peripheral blood lymphocytes

The PHA-resposiveness of normal and Hodgkin patient human peripheral blood lymphocytes has been studied before and after incubation with Hodgkin cytotoxic sera. The following conclusions have been reached: (a) Hodgkin cytotoxic serum is capable of decreasing the PHA-responsiveness of normal lymphocytes and of furtherly impairing the already defective PHA-responsiveness of Hodgkin lymphocytes. (b) The impaired PHA-responsiveness can be restored to the original levels by eluting the cytotoxic antibody. Control experiments in which normal and Hodgkin lymphocytes were put in contact with normal and Hodgkin non-cytotoxic serum showed no decrease of PHA-responsiveness. These data are in agreement with the hypothesis that the presence of serum cytotoxin is at least partly responsible for the immuno-incompetence of T-lymphocytes characteristic of Hodgkins disease.

[Macrophage electrophoretic migration test for lymphocyte sensitization to tumor antigens (author's transl)].

The macrophage electrophoretic migration test (MEM test) of Field and Caspary was used to study the sensitization to tumor antigens of blood lymphocytes of patients with solid tumor (7), chronic lymphatic leukemia (3), and Hodgkins disease (8). Our preliminary results are partially in keeping with those of the English authors: blood lymphocytes from some patients with malignant neoplasm seem to be sensitised to crude cancer material irrespective of the type of the tumor from which it derives. The MEM test was negative in the 4 patients with Hodgkins disease in remission and positive in the 4 patients with active disease. It is believed that further studies are needed before accepting this test as an in vitro diagnostic test for cancer.