The effects of triethylene melamine and related compounds on the leukocytes of mouse leukemia.

By JOSEPH H. BURCHENAL, M.D.,* LORRAINE F. WEBBER, BA., JUNE L. BIEDLER, B.A., G. %IARIE MEIGS, BA. AND GODFREY D. STOBBE, M.D. I N THE SCREENING of compounds for their possible chemotherapeutic effect against transplanted mouse leukemia triethylene melamine (TEM) (2,4, 6-triethylenimino-s-triazine) has been found to be effective in prolonging the survival time of mice with the Ak4 strain of transplantable mouse leukemia.” 2 Since mice with this leukemia show a marked increase in white blood count between the fifth and eighth day of the disease3 it was felt worthwhile to investigate the effect of triethylene melamine (TEM) and related compounds on the blood picture. Various investigators using several different strains of transplanted mouse leukemia have made similar studies on urethane46, a crude antagonist of pteroylglutamic acid (PGA),7 4-amino-PGA8 and 4-amino-N’#{176}-methyl-PGA.3 In these studies suppression of the leukemic process was demonstrated by a delay in the appearance of immature cells in the peripheral blood and in the infiltration of the organs by the white cells and by the prevention of a marked increase in the total leukocyte count. In the work herewith reported the effect of TEM on the total and differential leukocyte count and visceral infiltration of animals with both developing and advanced leukemia was studieti. In view of the chemotherapeutic effect of certain other ethylene imines closely related to TEM, hexamethylene-diethylenurea, 2, 4-diethylenimino-6-amino-s-triazine, anti 2-ethylenimino ,4 ,6-dimethoxy-s-triazine were tested for their effect on advanced Ak4 leukemia.