TESTING ITS IMMUNOTHERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF B-CELL GROWTH FACTOR (BCGF) AND TO TEST THE POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF BCGF FOR THE TREATMENT OF HUMAN IMMUNOPATHOLOGICAL

TESTING ITS IMMUNOTHERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF B-CELL GROWTH FACTOR (BCGF) AND TO TEST THE POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF BCGF FOR THE TREATMENT OF HUMAN IMMUNOPATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. BCGF MAY BE USEFUL AS AN IMMUNOTHERAPEUTIC AGENT IN THE TREATMENT OF PRIMARY IMMUNODEFICIENCY DISEASES AND POSSIBLY IN CERTAIN B-CELL LEUKEMIAS. THE PRINCIPAL GOAL OF THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A CONTINUOUS B-CELL LINE WHICH CAN BE USED TO FACILITATE THE LARGE-SCALE PURIFICATION OF BCGF. FRESHLY ISOLATED B CELLS FROM NORMAL HUMAN DONORS WILL BE PLACED INTO AN INITIAL SUSPENSION CULTURE. CULTURED CELLS WILL THEN BE CLONED IN SOFT AGAR AND RECLONED BY LIMITING DILUTION. B-CELL LINES WILL BE MAINTAINED WITH PARTIALLY PURIFIED BCGF ALREADY DEVELOPED AT COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT A BCGF-DEPENDENT CELL LINE WILL BE DEVELOPED DURING PHASE I. THIS LINE WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP A SIMPLE, RAPID AND REPRODUCIBLE ASSAY FOR THE DETECTION OF BCGF. IN PHASE II, METHODS WILL BE DEVELOPED TO PURIFY BCGF IN AMOUNTS SUFFICIENT FOR BIOCHEMICAL/BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES AND FOR EVENTUAL CLINICAL EVALUATION AS AN IMMUNOAUGMENTATIVE AGENT IN THE TREATMENT OF IMMUNODEFICIENCY DISEASES AND B-CELL LEUKEMIAS.