In C57Bl/6 mice with different stages of Lewis lung carcinoma growth used as recipients of diffusion chambers, after subcutaneous transplantation of tumour cells there was an increased output of colonies in the bone marrow and spleen cell cultures (CFU-DC) as compared to the control, The cocultivation of normal (bone marrow and spleen) and tumour cells has no influence on the effectiveness of their cloning.

A study was made of the effect of the blood sera of persons of the control group and patients with various diseases of the blood on normal precursor cells of granulo-monocytopoiesis (CFU-GM) and leukemic clonogenic cells. A stimulating human blood serum effect on proliferation was noted during cultivation of normal CFU-GM and leukemic clonogenic cells in the "agar drop-liquid medium" system. As a rule, the stimulating serum effect manifested itself in the presence of feeder cells or a high "spontaneous" colony formation. Human blood sera can be added to a culture medium for improving its nutritive properties.

The fragments of cell plasma membranes of two lines of metastatic tumour of A/He mice (lung adenocarcinoma--LA-cells and hepatoma HA-1--HA-cells) were used to prepare "hybrid" vesicles (LA- and HA-liposomes). Incorporation of the fragments of LA-cells into the bilayer vesicle increased the binding of LA-liposomes with lung almost by an order of magnitude, their trapping by liver being noticeably decreased. HA-liposomes were retained in the liver in larger amounts than the model phospholipid liposomes. It is assumed that the specificity of metastatic spreading into an organ is associated with the interaction of the plasma membrane of the tumour cells with the apical membrane of the target organ endothelium.

Monolayer cultivation of the radiated bone marrow was performed in 39 lymphogranulomatosis patients with a long-term remission attained after radiotherapy according to the radical program. In 41 patients, the non-radiated bone marrow was also subjected to monolayer cultivation. Counts were made of the total number of myelokaryocytes and myelogram. Analysis of the punctates from the radiated areas has shown that the growth of fibroblast colonies occurred where complete or partial recovery of the cellularity was detected and the total focal dose per bone marrow was less than 35 Gy. With the use of large doses the growth of the colonies was detected in none of the cases. In the radiated areas, the patients commonly manifested bone marrow aplasia. Investigation of the punctates from intact areas pointed to the growth of the colonies in the majority of cases whereas the myelogram count to the increased percentage of the reticular cells, lymphoid and erythroid elements.

The authors describe the results of the cloning of hemopoietic cells from 85 patients with different patterns of nonlymphoblastic leukemias in the agar drop--liquid medium system. It is shown that measurement of the colony-stimulating activity of hemopoietic cells and their growth pattern as well as morphological study of the cultures can be employed in practical hematology for making diagnosis and differential diagnosis, for evaluation of the treatment efficacy and prediction of the disease prognosis. The presence of blast colonies, an increase in the number of cell aggregations is regarded as an unfavourable prognostic criterion. Elevation of the colony-stimulating activity of hemopoietic cells is evidence of a more favourable prognosis.

Thermosensitivity of clonogenic ascites Ehrlich carcinoma cells (AEC), forming colonies in agar cultures in diffusion chambers was studied when heating them in vitro at 41-44 degrees C. The clonogenic cells of AEC are shown not to essentially differ both in the colony-forming efficiency (CFE) and in the proliferative status on the 3rd and 7th days. No essential differences are revealed in thermosensitivity of such cells. The heating time-survival curves are exponential or S-shaped with a small "shoulder". The temperature increase by 1 degree C resulted in a 2-2.5-fold decrease in the time of effective hyperthermia treatment. The values of D0 for cells treated with 42 degrees C in different experiments varied from 20.1 min to 24.6 min. Only one type of thermal damage reaction with the energy of inactivation about 150 kcal/M was observed in AEC cells in the temperature range studied.

The cell killing effect of hyperthermia (43 degrees C, 15 min) on the clonogenic Lewis lung carcinoma cells forming colonies in agar cultures in diffusion chambers was studied in vitro and in vivo. Survival rate of clonogenic tumour cells was 7.5 to 10.5%, the most prominent effect being observed in vitro. The preliminary heating resulted in 2-fold reduction of these cells' sensitivity to repeated hyperthermia. The thermotolerance effect persisted for 3 days after its induction.

A possibility of the androgen's correction of spontaneous and transplanted leukogenesis has been investigated in AKR mice. Prolongation of life was observed in the animals treated with the hormone at early stages of the leukemia development. The obtained results may be related to the stem hemopoietic precursors differentiation change under the testosterone influence manifested by erythropoiesis stimulation and the reduction of granulocytic colonies determined by the growth in the cellulose-acetate membranes (CFUcam).

The clonal nature of FCFC-derived stromal colonies was tested by chromosomal analysis in mixed cultures of CBA and CBAT6T6 bone marrow cells depleted of macrophages and myeloid cells. Inoculation of the bone marrow cell suspensions in flasks coated with poly-l-lysine has revealed practically no stromal aggregates among the explanted cells. The coincidence of karyotypes within the stromal colonies in the mixed cultures proved that the FCFC-derived colonies were cell clones. It was shown by indirect immunofluorescence with antibodies to type 1 collagen that the mouse bone marrow FCFC-derived colonies consisted of stromal fibroblasts. The cloning efficiency of the bone marrow FCFS depends on the explantation density of cells; a stable colony-forming efficiency could be reached only in the presence of feeder cells (irradiated bone marrow). In the bone marrow cells suspensions obtained by trypsinization the amount of FCFC is markedly higher than in the suspensions of mechanically disaggregated bone marrow cells.

The current literature data on the cloning of human tumour cells, the use of clonal assays of tumour growth for studying biology, cell kinetics and cytogenetic analysis of human tumour cells, drug sensitivity and related clinical and preclinical studies are reviewed.

An optimal morphologic complex of parameters for evaluation of individual sensitivity of heterotransplants to two anti-cancer drugs--5-fluorouracil and ftorafur has been developed on the basis of clinical and experimental material and using 76 gastric malignant tumours, 1320 heterotransplants in diffusion chambers (DC) in vivo which were implanted to 660 animal recipients. A simplified preclinical evaluation method of the individual sensitivity of the human gastric tumour to fluoropyrimidines is recommended based on dynamic level of mitotic activity in DC in vivo heterotransplants.

P. aeruginosa corpuscular polyvalent vaccine stimulates hematopoiesis in sublethally stimulated mice. The stimulating effect is dose-dependent. The most effective method of immunization is the intravenous injection of the vaccine. The degree to which the stimulation of hematopoiesis is manifested varies in different strains of mice. The stimulation of hematopoiesis is not linked with an increase in the content of erythropoietin. P. aeruginosa polyvalent corpuscular vaccine and monovaccine, prepared from P. aeruginosa strain 1313 and incorporated into the polyvalent vaccine, protect lethally irradiated mice in the postradiation survival test.

Application of thiamine (1 X 10(-11)-1 X 10(-3) mol/l) on the membrane of cochlear round window increased the amplitude and decreased the latency of the auditory nerve action potential, waves I and II of brainstem auditory-evoked electrical potentials in response to acoustic clicks of different intensity. The mechanism of thiamine action on auditory-evoked electric potentials is discussed.

Epithelioid sarcoma is a rare soft tissue tumour. Small-nodular structure, necrotic foci in the centre of tumour nodes, moderate lymphocytic infiltration are characteristic histologic features of this tumour. Majority of tumour cells have the appearance of epithelioid histiocytes. Some tumour cells are found in small cavities resembling hyalin cartilage lacunes. Signs of a synovial, fibroblastic and histiocytic differentiation are observed ultrastructurally in the epithelioid sarcoma cells On the basis of the literature analysis and their own ultrastructural data the authors conclude that there should be a relation of this tumor with pluripotential stem cells of mesenchyma surrounding distal part of the chondral bone germ.