Adenosine diphosphate ribosyl transferase in marrow cells of patients with acute myeloid leukemia is related to differentiation and drug sensitivity.

The levels of adenosine diphosphate ribosyl transferase (ADPRT) have been quantified in Ficoll-Isopaque isolated marrow cells from 36 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The in vitro growth pattern in agar at diagnosis was also determined, and in 16 patients the in vitro drug sensitivity of the clonogenic cells (CFU-GM) to cytosine arabinoside and daunorubicin was measured. The ADPRT activities of the various marrow cell preparations correlated to the morphological diagnoses, in vitro growth patterns, in vitro drug sensitivities to cytosine arabinoside, and to the prognoses of the AML patients. Hence, ADPRT may be a useful marker for the pathophysiology associated to AML.