Migration-Inhibiting Effect of Sera From Patients With Burkitt's Lymphoma 2

Abstract

Sera from 25 of 30 Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) patients inhibited the migration of cell suspensions from BL biopsies and tissue cultures in a capillary tube migration assay. Leukemic peripheral blood-cell migration was inhibited by 13 of 21 BL sera. Weak migration inhibition was seen only occasionally with sera from clinically disease-free Europeans, from African patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and from African patients with tonsillitis. Inhibitory activity was found in sera from 24% of relatives and neighbors of BL patients. The donors of positive sera tended to be <10 years old and showed sometendency to geographic clustering. Inhibitory activity was maximum in the macroglobulin fraction in the 3 sera fractionated on Sephadex, but subsidiary activity was noted in 2 of these sera in the post-albumin fraction. Administering 2-mercaptoethanol and heating the serum to 56° C for 30 minutes abolished inhibitory activity. We could not identify the specificity of the active fraction, nor could we relate inhibitory activity to levels of antibody to Epstein-Barr virus-related antigens. The inhibitory factor(s) may be part of an inhibitory feedback mechanism.