[Effect of mitogens on the changes in intracellular cyclic AMP concentration in the lymphocytes of healthy persons and patients with lymphoblastic leukemia].

In the lymphocytes of 20 healthy subjects and 17 patients with chronic lymphatic leukaemia (CLL) the cAMP level was determined before and at different time periods during cell incubation with mitogens (phytohaemagglutinin--PHA, concanavalin A--Con A, and pokeweed mitogen PWM). The experiments demonstrated that PHA-induced lymphocyte proliferation was associated in healthy subjects during the first 10--20 minutes of incubation with a rise in the intracellular cAMP concentration, while the level of cAMP decreased systematically during 30 minutes of incubation with Con A and PWM. Incubation of lymphocytes of the patients with CLL during 30 minutes with PHA, Con A and PWM caused no changes in the low cAMP level in these cells. The obtained results suggest that PHA activation of lymphocytes in healthy subjects is connected with changes in the intracellular concentration of cAMP.