Antigen solubilized from human leukemia: lymphocyte stimulation.

Soluble antigen was extracted with hypertonic (3 molar) potassium chloride from the malignant cells of seven patients with acute leukemia. The antigen and leukemia cells were used to stimulate autologous patients' and allogeneic normal donors' lymphocytes in mixed lymphocyte cultures. The lymphocytes of six patients showed significant blastogenic responses to autologous antigen. In contrast, the lymphocytes of only one of seven normal donors responded to the soluble antigens. Both patients' and normal subjects' lymphocytes responded to the intact leukemia cells. The use of these antigens should facilitate the study of specific tumor immunity in human leukemia.