Prostaglandins in cells of the lymphoid system in AKR leukemia.

AKR mice develop spontaneous lymphoid leukemia late (8 to 12 months) in life, although persistent murine leukemia virus production occurs throughout their life. This suggests that age-related changes are involved in development of leukemia. Prostaglandin biosynthesis was therefore studied in 24-hr cultures in vitro at 37 degrees of peritoneal macrophages, splenocytes, thymocytes, bone marrow, and lymph node cells. AKR mice of 2, 6, and 8 to 12 months of age were studied. Prostaglandin E1, prostaglandin E2, prostaglandin F2 alpha, 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha, and thromboxane B2 were measured. In cultures of peritoneal macrophages and cells from spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes, the biosynthesis of all five prostaglandin moieties was higher in those cultures prepared from 8- to 12-month-old spontaneously leukemic mice in comparison with those from 2-month-old nonleukemic AKR mice. However, when leukemia was transplanted in 3-month-old AKR mice, synthesis of all five compounds was reduced significantly in cultures of peritoneal macrophages and splenocytes prepared from these 3-month-old leukemic mice. The present data demonstrate abnormalities in prostaglandin synthesis by various cells of the immune system in leukemic mice. However, the nature of these changes was different in cultures of cells from spontaneously leukemic mice from those with transplanted leukemia. Age-related increases in prostaglandin synthesis by various lymphoid cells from spontaneously leukemic AKR mice (8 to 12 months old) occurred at a much earlier age than in BALB/c mice and may be related to the leukemic condition.