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Polyadenylic Acid Polymerase Activity in Normal and Leukemic Human Leukocytes¹

Departments of Biochemistry [T. T., N. C., C. M. T.] and Immunology [C. I., M. P.] of Papanikolaou Research Center of Oncology, 171, Alexandias Av., Athens 11522, Hematology Unit, First Department of Internal Medicine [G. A. P.], and Second Department of Pediatrics [H. V. C.], University of Athens, Athens 11522, Greece

Soluble polyadenylic acid [poly(A)] polymerase and poly(A) nucleases content of normal human blood lymphocytes and leukemic blood cell populations was determined. Blood lymphocytes from seven normal individuals were used as controls. Leukemic cells were obtained from 69 patients with various types of acute and chronic leukemias. Chronic lymphocytic leukemias presented poly(A) polymerase values with a mean of 9 ± 4 (S.D.). Although most of the chronic lymphocytic leukemia cases presented poly(A) polymerase activities similar to those of normal lymphocytes (3 ± 3), a small number fell into the specific activity values of acute leukemias, which were significantly higher and covered a wider range. The mean values for acute myeloblastic, acute monoblastic, and acute lymphoblastic leukemias were 53 ± 50, 21 ± 8, and 29 ± 14, respectively. A statistically significant difference was found between chronic and acute leukemias (p < 0.01).

The observed differences in poly(A) polymerase levels of acute lymphoblastic leukemia versus chronic lymphocytic leukemia persisted after fractionation of the crude extracts and, furthermore, they could not be attributed to differences in the levels of poly(A)-degrading enzymes [poly(A) endo- and exonucleases]. Fractionation of leukemic extracts on Sephadex G-75 revealed two molecular forms of poly(A) polymerase activity.

¹ Presented at the Tenth International Symposium on Comparative Research of Leukemia and Related Diseases, August 31 to September 4, 1981, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization International Advanced Study Institute on Biochemical and Biological Markers of Neoplastic Transformation, September 28 to October 8, 1981, Corfu, Greece (30). This work was supported by the Hellenic Anticancer Institute.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 6/ 5/83. Accepted 5/31/84.

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