In vitro study of the comparative behaviour of a human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line and a reference normal cell line towards the effects of a mitogenic lectin.

An in vitro study of the behaviour of a human acute lymphoblastoid leukemia cell line (REH) towards the action of a mitogenic lectin of Robinia pseudoacacia was carried out. The results were compared with those a reference cell line (LHN13) established from normal human lymphocytes. In both cell lines, the lectin induces agglutination (measured by counting the number of aggregates as well as the number of cells in each aggregate) and decrease of growth (measured by counting the number of cells and the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into TCA-precipitable material per 10(6) cells). The agglutination and the decrease of growth are produced at the doses of 0.5 and 1 microgram/ml of culture medium and after 4 h of exposure of cells to the lectin, respectively. These effects increase progressively with higher doses of lectin and continues throughout the culture. However, the REH line is less sensitive than the LHN13 line to the effects of lectin. Both agglutination and growth decrease of REH as well as LHN13 cell lines by the lectin are reversible; this is confirmed by the fact that the monospecific anti-Robinia lectin serum suppresses these effects.