360 G. ROUSER, B. JELINEK, A. J. SAMUELS, K. KINUGASA 

Figs. 13-20. Plasma and leukocyte samples from an in vitvo incubation study (see text). Figs. 13-16 
prepared from the equivalent of 0.25 ml of plasma samples removed at zero time, 60, 90, and 
240 min, respectively. Figs. 17-20, the leukocyte samples removed at the same time intervals. 
Glutamine, Gl; Glutamic acid, GA 
mia patients degrade glutamine and produce alanine and glutamic acid. When 
blood is allowed to stand prior to processing, a variable increase in alanine and 
glutamic acid and a decrease in glutamine may be seen in plasma, although this 
should be almost undetectable by the standard procedure adopted. 
Figs. 21-24 show the plasma and Figs. 25-28 the erythrocyte samples removed 
at the beginning and after 30, 120 and 240 min of incubation. Glutamine was not 
degraded, although there was a marked increase in both the aspartate and glutamate 
levels in erythrocytes and a marked increase in the glutamate level of plasma. The 
major artifacts that would be introduced from erythrocytes by allowing blood 
from chronic lymphatic leukemia patients to stand im vitro would be an elevation 
of the plasma glutamic acid level with increases in the dicarboxylic acids in the eryth- 
References p. 447/448 
15 
