Antibodies against Feline and Gibbon Ape reverse transcriptase on surface of spleen cells in human myelogenous leukemia

Abstract

We reported that antibody bound to blood leukocytes of patients in chronic myelogenous leukemia neutralize reverse transcriptase. The specificity of neutralization depended on the phase of the disease. Antibody bound to chronic phase leukemia cells neutralized Gibbon Ape leukemia virus reverse transcriptase, while that bound to blastic phase cells neutralized Feline leukemia virus reverse transcriptase. Spleen cells obtained from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia have surface-bound immunoglobulins that recognize both reverse transcriptases. These data in the spleen suggest the existence of a progressive shift in cell population from a chronic phase type cell to a blastic phase type cell.