Elevated nascent DNA content of peripheral blood mononuclear cell compartment in lymphoma patients.

The kinetics of DNA synthesis and the DNA pattern of isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from control subjects and lymphoma patients prior to drug treatment were studied as a possible tool in the early diagnosis of lymphoma. Thymidine and [H3]-dTTP incorporation represented the measure of replicative DNA synthesis in permeable murine thymocytes and HT-168 human melanoma cells as described earlier. The kinetic parameters of nucleotide incorporation were compared with the ploidity parameters of the Feulgen-stained smears examined by the DNASK TV-cytophotometric system. For better evaluation and visualization of the S-phase population, the method of silver impregnation of the Nucleolar-Organizer-Region in combination with the Feulgen technique was used. Significant differences were observed among the five determined parameters of healthy and lymphoma patients. Our results allow to explain some of the facts related to T-cell function deficiency in lymphoma.