GM-CFC growth in chronic granulocytic leukaemia is not affected by a soluble inhibitor released by aplastic anaemia T-cells or mitogen-primed normal T-lymphocytes.

Peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) cells were obtained from 12 patients with chronic granulocytic leukaemia (CGL) and cultured in agar for granulocyte macrophage colony formation (GM-CFC). In addition PB and BM CGL cells were co-cultured with T-lymphocytes from patients with immune severe aplastic anaemia (SAA), or with T-cells from healthy donors primed with pokeweed mitogen (PWM). The supernatants of SAA and PWM primed T-cells were also added to CGL cells grown in agar. Normal marrow cells obtained from eight healthy donors were used to set up control cultures and co-cultures. The results of this study indicate that, firstly, T-cells derived from SAA patients and their supernatants suppress GM-CFC growth of normal marrow cells but not of PB nor BM CGL cells, and, secondly, normal T-cells primed with PWM and their supernatants suppress normal marrow GM-CFC but not colony formation of BM nor PB CGL cells. These results provide further evidence that mediators which are effective in regulating normal myeloid progenitor cells fail to inhibit the in vitro growth of GM-CFC from CGL patients.