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Radiation leukemogenesis: Quantitative relationship between pre‐leukemic cells in the thymus and lymphoma induction
Author(s) -
Kotler M.,
Ruchlemer R.,
Avni O.,
Yefenof E.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910560525
Subject(s) - lymphoma , biology , clone (java method) , population , leukemia , progenitor cell , haematopoiesis , immunology , cancer research , pathology , microbiology and biotechnology , stem cell , medicine , genetics , gene , environmental health
Abstract Fractionated irradiation of C57BL/6 mice induces a population of pre‐leukemic (PL) cells that progress into mature thymic lymphomas after a latency of 4 to 6 months. Transfer of graded numbers of thymocytes from an irradiated mouse into recipient mice indicated that PL cells first appear in the thymus 6 weeks after irradiation. The initial proportion of the thymic PL cells is ≥10 −5 and their frequency continuously increases with time, reaching ≥ 10 −3 10 weeks after irradiation. The PL cell population that emerges early during the pre‐malignant latency consists of pleioclonal T lymphocytes. However, within 4 weeks a dominant PL clone can be detected which becomes the progenitor of a clonal fymphoma 9 to 15 weeks later. These results suggest that radiation leukemogenesis involves continuous accumulation of pleioclonal PL cells in the thymus, one of which is then selected for further maturation into frank lymphoma.