Humoral and Cellular Immunity Against Allogeneic Antigens in Patients with Acute Leukaemia

Abstract

The humoral and cellular immunity of 12 patients with acute leukaemia (6 AML and 6 ALL) was investigated using several techniques. The study of the humoral response included the screening for allogeneic and autologous lymphocytotoxins, for cytotoxic antibodies against leukaemic blasts, Daudi cells and B lymphocytes and the detection of immune complexes. The cellular immunity was investigated by stimulation of remission lymphocytes by autologous blast cells or allogeneic lymphocytes in mixed cell cultures. Most patients have retained their humoral and cellular immune responsiveness against allogeneic antigens while there seems to be no significant response against leukaemia-associated antigens.