DETECTION OF PROLIFERATING CELL NUCLEAR ANTIGEN (PCNA) IN PERIPHERAL-BLOOD MONONUCLEAR-CELLS AND SERA OF PATIENTS WITH MALIGNANT-LYMPHOMA

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was detected in the peripher al blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with malignant lymphoma (ML). Twenty-one of 27 patients with ML had PCNA expressing PBMC (5.25 +/- 4.75% cells), which tended to increase in the advanced clinical s tage of ML. PCNA in PBMC extracts was detected in 11 of 16 patients (5 4.5 +/- 41.9 ng/ml). The percentage of PCNA positive cells correlated significantly with the concentration of PCNA in PBMC extracts (P < 0.0 05). Serum PCNA was detected in 6 of 16 patients (160.1 +/- 141.1 ng/m l), but did not correlate with the number of PCNA-positive cells. In s ome cases, the concentration of serum PCNA increased after chemotherap y while the percent PCNA-positive cells decreased. Our finding indicat e that detection of PCNA in PBMC appears to help monitoring the extent of disease in ML and the serum PCNA level may be used in therapeutic studies of lymphoma patients.