Leukocytes were isolated from the peripheral blood of patients with leukemia and other blood diseases by means of differential separation using 0.83% NH
4CI solution. The lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and its isozymes were measured on the supernatant fraction of thus collected leukocyte homogenate.
Leukocytes isolated from healthy men were reserved as control, in which more than 90% of collected leukocjtes composed of mature granulocytes with free of red cell.
The results are as follows.
1. The mean LDH activity of granulocytes from normal men was 320 units per 10
6 cells with the standard deviation of 140 units. The activity was around the lower border of the normal levels in leukemias, while it was slightly higher than control in leukocyte from chronic granulocytic leukemia.
2. Agar-gel electrophoresis disclosed five different isozymes on normal human granulocyte, while were named as LDH
5,4,3,2 and LDH
1 in the order from the cathode. The activities of these fractions were found to be in due of this order with the highest peak in LDH
5.
3. The LDH isozyme pattern of acute leukemic cells were characterized by a extreme increase in LDH
3, while turned into the highest peak among the five fractions, with concomitant decrease in LDH
5. A similar but less trend of LDH isozyme pattern was demonstrated in leukocytes from chronic granulocytic leukemia.
4. Singular and characteristic LDH isozyme patterns were observed on leukocytes from patients with various blood diseases such as aplastic anemia, malignant lymphoma, myeloma and megaloblastic anemia,
5. Significance of the characteristic isozyme patterns of leukemic cells was discussed mainly from the view point of its metabolism and turnover. It was assumed that such changes were of tumor specific alterations.
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