Restoration of in vitro hematopoiesis in B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia by antibodies to tumor necrosis factor

Abstract Hematopoiesis was evaluated in 15 B-CLL patients using the mixed colony formation assay. The mean growth of all types of colonies in B-CLL peripheral blood was significantly lower than that of 10 normal controls ( p ). To investigate whether TNF is the cytokine involved in the reduced growth of hematopoietic progenitors in B-CLL, neutralizing anti-TNF antibodies (anti-TNF Abs) were added to the cultures. Anti-TNF Abs optimized in vitro hematopoiesis in 11 out of 15 B-CLL patients and a significant growth increase in all types of colonies was noted as compared to baseline cultures ( p