PARALLEL STUDIES OF CLONOGENIC LEUKEMIA-CELLS AND THE LEUKEMIA-CELL POPULATION AS A WHOLE IN ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA

The clonogenic cells in patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML ) were evaluated with respect to the relationship between primary and secondary cloning capacity and the proliferative and molecular biologi cal characteristics of the leukaemia cell population as a whole. Secon dary cloning capacity was correlated with primary cloning efficiency, and with the ability of the clonogenic cells to produce large sized cl ones. The cloning capacity of AML cells was unrelated eo the cell cycl e characteristics of the leukaemia cell population in vivo or to the l evel of myc, myb, fms, or interleukin (IL)1 beta expression. The sensi tivities of the clonogenic cells to cytosine arabinoside and daunorubi cin were inversely correlated with the ability of the leukaemia cells to produce large sized clones in vitro. This latter observation may ex plain the reported relationships between the clonogenic capacity of AM L cells and response to chemotherapy.