Mean CD34+eff and CD34+ cell yields were better on Amicus than on CS-3000+. CD34+eff of Amicus, however, seems to be related to the initial WBC counts, decreasing progressively when WBC increased over 4 x 10(3) per microL that coincided with the increase in CD34+ cell concentrations. For these cases, the volume and duration of cycles should be adapted to optimize CD34+ collections by using Amicus separators.

Summary:We retrospectively analysed the factors that influenced rate of haemopoietic recovery (HR) in 243 patients after transplantation with chemotherapy-mobilised autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC). Approximately half the patients also received haemopoietic growth factors (HGF) for mobilisation. Conditioning for transplantation was with either chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy plus total body irradiation (TBI). Median time to recovery of granulocytes у0.5 ؋ 10 9 /l was 13 days (range 7-93 days) and of platelets у50 ؋ 10 9 /l 14 days (7-440). Speed of HR was greater, both for neutrophils and platelets for patients who received more rather than less CFU-GM than our median value of 18.9 ؋ 10 4 /kg (P Ͻ 0.0001 in both instances) and more rather than less CD34-positive cells than our median value of 8.8 ؋ 10 6 /kg (P Ͻ 0.0001 and P Ͻ 0.0005, respectively). For granulocyte recovery, in the multivariate analysis the dose of infused CFU-GM (P = 0.05) and the use of HGF for both mobilisation and posttransplantation (P Ͻ 0.0014) were significant positive factors. For platelet recovery in the multivariate analysis the dose of infused CFU-GM (P Ͻ 0.0016) was a positive factor. The use of busulphan and of TBI were significant adverse factors for rate of platelet recovery (P = 0.005 and 0.0004, respectively). When compared with non-HGF-mobilised PBPC, HGF-mobilised PBPC reduced the number of days of hospitalisation (28 vs 24, P = 0.0001) and of treatment with intravenous antibiotics (15 vs 11, P = 0.0004). These findings emphasise the importance of cell dose in accelerating haemopoietic recovery after autologous blood stem cell transplantation.

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Summary. The serum of pregnant women contains a non‐specific immuno‐suppressive factor able to block an in vitro cellular cytotoxicity reaction. This activity increases during the first trimester and persists for 3 months after delivery. The factor is active in dilution. Ten women who had recurrent abortions were typed for HLA antigens and were found to share several antigens with their husband. In all these women, the‘blocking factor’was absent from their serum. The absence of the‘blocking factor’could be used as a clinical test to predict spontaneous abortion.

A factor present in the serum of pregnant women is able to inhibit nonspecifically a cellular cytotoxicity reaction. This glycoprotein called P4, is an Α-globulin whose molecular weight is 200,000 daltons bound to albumin. Its isoelectric point is 4.1. By its various characteristics, P4 seems different from other proteins so far described.