Successful Allogenic Bone Marrow Transplantation in Man: Chimerism, Induced Specific Tolerance and Possible Anti-leukemic Effects.

I T HAS BEEN demonstrated in various animal species that allogenic (homologous) bone marrow transplantation is possible after conditioning the recipient by a lethal dose of total-body irradiation.19 A successful transplant is usually complicated by a secondary syndrome,2 the mechanism of which probably involves the reaction of immunologically competent cells against host antigens.4 If the recipient is leukemic, the immune reaction of the graft against the leukemic cells3’20’25’28’2#{176}and perhaps against the leukemia virus19t may prove to be a powerful therapeutic weapon. Hence, the idea of using allogenic bone marrow grafts in the treatment of leukemia. The object in such cases would be to obtain prolonged acceptance of the graft, followed by the secondary syndrome which indicates the graft versus nost reaction, and then to control the undesirable effects of the secondary syndrome.