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AUTOLOGOUS LYMPHOCYTE THERAPY FOR EXPERIMENTAL CANINE LYMPHOEDEMA: A PILOT STUDY
Author(s) -
Knight Kenneth R.,
Ritz Morris,
Lepore Diana A.,
Booth Russell,
Octigan Keryn,
O‘Brien Bernard McC.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1994.tb02222.x
Subject(s) - medicine , lymph , femoral artery , lymphatic system , hydroxyproline , fibrosis , edema , interstitial fluid , lymphocyte , lymphedema , groin , pathology , surgery , cancer , breast cancer
Obstructive lymphoedema, an accumulation of protein‐rich fluid in interstitial spaces, was created in five dogs by a combination of the irradiation of one groin and subsequent surgical ablation of any remaining lymphatics. The lymphoedema was stable for up to 2 years. The aim was to test the efficacy of intra‐arterial injection of autologous lymphocytes as a therapy for lymphoedema. The hypothesis was that cytokines produced by lymphocytes mediate proteolysis by macrophage proteinases in the lymphoedematous limb to remove the excess protein and relieve the oedema. A concentrated lymphocyterich preparation was isolated from blood by the Ficoll‐Paque method. These preparations were injected into the femoral artery four times at approximately 4 weekly intervals. Three months after the first injection of lymphocytes, lymphoedematous limbs showed a marked 69% reduction in the mean excess circumferences compared with opposite control limbs. After treatment, skin thickness and hydroxyproline content (both measures of fibrosis) as well as water content (a measure of oedema) had reduced significantly. In specimens of interstitial fluid and in skin homogenates acidic proteinase activity increased and the protein concentration decreased significantly compared with controls. It is concluded that increased proteolysis, possibly due to activated macrophages recruited to the lymphoedematous limb, may partly explain these results.