Development of Murine Leukemia after Inoculation of Human Lymphomas

Summary Biopsy and/or bone marrow specimens from human lymphomas were inoculated into the spleen of young BALB mice followed by a blind intraperitoneal passage. Five inocula: 2 hemocytoblastomas, 1 fibrosarcoma, 1 Hodgkin9s disease, and a sediment of Burkitt9s lymphoma cells led to the development of short-latency leukemias within 50 days. The incidence of long-latency leukemias, averaging 20 months, was also significantly increased to 34% in 955 mice receiving inocula from 51 cases of human lymphomas compared to 26% in 223 mice inoculated with 15 human control specimens. Of the latter, 4 normal bone marrow and one tonsil inocula gave a significant increase in leukemia compared to the 15% spontaneous incidence of the BALB strain. In the human lymphoma groups, a significantly high incidence of leukemia was obtained in the surviving animals of cases which gave rise to short-latency leukemias in some cases of Hodgkin9s disease, acute leukemia, lymphoadenosarcosis, hypernephroma, and eosinophilic granuloma. Tumors developing in some of the group included fibrosarcomas, and lung, mammary, parotid, ovarian, testicular, and adrenal tumors. Both short-latency and long-latency leukemias seem to respond to the same mechanism; this suggests the presence of a leukemogenic factor in human lymphomas and, possibly, in normal bone marrow capable of triggering a preexisting mechanism in the mouse.