Treatment of cytostatic agranulocytosis with transplantation of embryonic liver hematopoietic cells

Smikodub A.I., Radzievskaya L.V., Snigir N.V.

Cell Therapy Clinic of National Medical University and Embryonic Tissues Center "EmCell"

Cytostatic neutropenia is one of the main factors that cause infectious complications in oncological patients. The treatment program of patients with agranulocytosis caused by a standard chemotherapy was completed with transplantation of hematopoietic embryonic cell suspensions. Cryopreserved cell suspensions were used for transplantation, each of them was prepared from human liver of one embryo of 7 to 12 weeks of gestation. One transplantation was used for each patient; administered cell count was 0.5 to 4.0*108/ml, CFU-GM, 0.6 to 165*105, CFU-GEMM, 2.1 to 9.0*105.

225 patients with cytostatic agranulocytosis were observed: 17 with acute leukemia, 2 with leukemization of lymphoma, 1 with blast crisis in chronic myeloblastic leukemia, 4 with solid tumors, and 1 with acute myelosane aplasia. In 19 patients cytostatic neutropenia was complicated by infections.

On the 1st-3rd day from transplantation, clinical improvement (decrease or normalization of the body temperature and decrease of manifestation of the intoxication syndrome) was observed in 14 of 19 patients with symptoms of infection.

An increase of leukocytes and neutrophils was recorded from the 3rd day; however, a reliable increase was reported from the 11th day. On the 3rd day, the neutrophil count was 0.40±0.12*109/l (p>0.05), and on the 11th day, 1.79±0.76*109/l (p<0.05) as compared with 0.18±0.07*109/l before the transplantation.

An improvement of indices of erythrocyte and thrombocyte counts, as well as regression of infection was also reported.

Therapy appeared to be ineffective in five patients (20%).

Fouth International Congress of Cell Transplantation Society. Montreux / Switzerland, March 1999. Cell Transplantation, v.8, n.2. 1999, p.123