GRANULOCYTE-MONOCYTE COLONY-FORMING UNIT CONTENT OF AUTOLOGOUS BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTS IN PATIENTS WITH HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCY

Cell viability and number of granulocyte-monocyte colony forming units (CFU-GM) were systematically assessed in 57 patients who had undergon e transplantation of the autologous bone marrow for treatment of haema tologic malignancies. Bone marrow cell cultivation in agarose with fee der layers appeared inferior to that performed in agarose with recombi nant human granulocyte-monocyte colony stimulating factor and methylce llulose with phytohaemaglutinin leukocyte-conditioned medium. Since th e transplant cells were frozen in liquid nitrogen between harvesting a nd reinfusion, the following samples were tested: buffy coat cells, bu ffy coat cells immediately after addition of dimethylsulphoxide, cell sample that had been frozen for 24 hours, and frozen transplant cells at the time of thawing and transplantation. Each procedural step decre ased both cell viability and the number of CFU-GM, but since the lymph ohaematologic recovery in all patients followed the pattern reported i n the literature for high-quality transplants, we concluded that our t ransplants retained the necessary number of progenitor cells. It appea rs that the best strategy for dynamic assessment of the transplant qua lity would be to perform tests after every step of the transplant proc essing. Cell viability and number of progenitors per body weight in tr ansplants were also found to be associated with probability of neutrop hil reconstitution after bone marrow reinfusion.