THE DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID 

 CONTENT OF LEUCOCYTES 



A. J. HALE* and SYLVIA J. WILSON 

 Institute of Physiology, The University, Glasgow 



Investigations of Feulgen stained leucocytes of peripheral blood, bone 

 marrow and lymph node, using an integrating microdensitometer, hâve 

 shown that the modal amount of DNA in thèse cells differs from that 

 of certain other cells of the same species. It has also been found that 

 this différence is not due to différent Feulgen-reaction characteristics of 

 leucocytes. 



The distribution about this modal value in normal bone marrow and 

 lymph node is characteristLc of a normal actively dividing tissue. This is 

 also true for most samples from the peripheral blood, bone marrow and 

 lymph nodes of cases of leukaemia. In a certain small number of cases 

 of leukaemia there is however a change in the distribution which is 

 characteristic of certain malignant cells. 



The relationship between the degree of differentiation and the nucleo- 

 protein content of leucocytes has also been investigated. 



♦Présent address: Division of Pathology, Impérial Cancer Research Fand, 

 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.2. 



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