In-vitro and in-vivo properties of canine blood mononuclear leukocytes separated by discontinuous albumin density gradient centrifugation.

Dogs were given 1 200 R whole body x-irradiation and transfused with frozen and thawed mononuclear leukocytes from a DLA identical, MLC negative donor dog. These leukocytes had been obtained from the peripheral blood by means of leukapheresis, using the IBM experimental cell separator after injection of 15 mg/kg body weight of dextran sulphate to increase the yield of CFUc upon collection. The segregation of leukocytes by means of the discontinuous albumin gradient centrifugation method resulted in a fraction 2 that contained a very high proportion of CFUc, and in other fractions 3 and 4 with a high proportion of lymphocytes with few CFUc. The dog receiving fraction-2 cells showed a rapid bone marrow recovery (permanent) and displayed no signs of gvh-reaction. The dogs receiving cells of fraction 3 or 4 died of gvh-reaction within 25 days. The dog receiving fraction 4 cells showed little hemopoietic recovery, but a marked lymph node hyperplasia of plasma cells.