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The behaviour of GH, LH and TSH was investigated in peripheral leukocytes from normal subjects and patients with acute and chronic myeloid and lymphatic leukaemia. A double-antibody radioimmunological method was used to examine intact cells, after separation of granulocytes from lymphocytes on a Ficoll-Hypaque gradient. The results obtained showed a higher concentration of LH in normal granulocytes by comparison with lymphocytes, and a marked fall in all (except chronic lymphatic) leukaemias. GH and TSH, on the other hand, were higher in normal lymphocytes as opposed to granulocytes, while GH was reduced in all forms of leukaemia and TSH slightly increased (except in CLL). In addition, TSH was found in smaller quantities than the other hormones in all cell types examined. The differences between leukaemic and normal cells are tentatively explained by postulating a change in membrane receptors during the leukaemic transformation of blood cells.

The behaviour of prostaglandins A, B, E 1, E 2, F 1 and F 2 has been examined in the granulocytes and lymphocytes of the peripheral blood of normal subjects and in circulating leucocytes of patients with CML, AML, CLL and ALL. At the same time, modifications of PGE 2 in the granulocytes of normal subjects and in patients with CML or AML before and after phagocytosis of latex particles were monitored. The general observation was a lowering in PGE and PGF in acute myeloid and lymphatic leukaemia, while the variations in CML and CLL were rather complex. Also observed was a reduction in PGE 2 in AML but not in CML, including a reduced response to phagocytosis in granulocytes. The data are compared with previous reports of AMPc and GMPc in the same cells and commented on, taking into consideration their possible reflexion on the proliferative and functional activity of the cells examined.

After briefly mentioning the factors which influence the vitamin C levels in tissues, the findings are reported of an investigation, conducted on 11 volunteers, in which some variations were revealed in vitamin C concentrations in the plasma and in the leukocytes of the subjects examined during a period of one year. The lowest levels were found in the months of March and December.

The fibrinolytic activity of human peripheral blood leukocytes was studied by plating the cells on 125I-fibrin coated dishes. The separation of the three major leukocyte types allowed to demonstrate that most of the activity was produced by granulocytes. The rate of fibrinolysin was found to be linear with incubation time and cell number in the range of 1-4 X 10(5) cells/ml. Since little activity was found in absence of exogenous plasminogen, it was concluded that the cell fibrinolytic activity depended mostly upon the release of plasminogen activator. Plasmatic and granulocytic activators obtained from the same amount of blood were found to be of similar level suggesting a possible clinical implication of the cellular activity in the thrombolytic system.