Maintenance of MOPC 104E myeloma in plateau phase.

MOPC 104E myeloma cells are brought under host regulation after treatment with cyclophosphamide, 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, or cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II). The first indication of this phenomenon is the plateau level of immunoglobulin M(lambda) [IgM(lambda)]. The myeloma recurs more frequently in animals with high plateau levels of IgM(lambda) even when remission is maintained for greater than 200 days. The growth rate of the recurring tumor is altered when compared with the original tumor in the same individual. Different drugs and dosages produce stable myeloma of different sizes. Treatment with cyclophosphamide (10 to 200 mg/kg), or 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (25 mg/kg) gives stable myeloma that produces low plateau levels of IgM(lambda). This myeloma does not show late recurrence. Combination of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, cyclophosphamide, and cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) in low doses or cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) alone gives a stable myeloma clone(s) which produces IgM(lambda) which plateaus at higher levels, and the myeloma clone recurs relatively late in the life of the animal. These results show that treatment does not lead to the elimination of the dominant myeloma clone. Clonal dominance is, however, broken when the proliferative potential is interrupted by drug treatment. The resulting long stable phase supports the view that the proliferation, the expression of the plasma cell maturation sequences, and the secretion of IgM(lambda) are under normal host regulation. Aging presumably causes a loss of regulatory control permitting clonal expansion and recurrence of the myeloma in animals with high plateau levels of the IgM(lambda). The MOPC 104E myeloma model demonstrates for the first time a conversion of the malignant form to the indolent form as seen for humans.