FREE AMINO ACIDS IN BLOOD. II 379 
lack of correspondence between plasma and red cell taurine has also been observed 
in normal individuals. 
Special findings in chronic granulocytic leukenna with a predominance of neutrophilic 
polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the peripheral blood 
Two patients were studied who had an unusual peripheral blood picture. One had 
go% and the other 95°, neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the peripheral 
blood with only a few myelocytes and lymphocytes making up the remainder of the 
cell population. The free amino acid pool constituents in one of these patients has 
been described?. It was pointed out that this patient, as well as a patient with reticu- 
lum cell sarcoma and granulocytosis, showed very low leukocyte glutamine with 
very high glutamic acid and reduced taurine levels as compared to normal leukocytes. 
Another patient was found to show very nearly the same free amino acid pool 
changes. The patient (L. Gre.) was examined on a previous occasion in a polycythemic 
phase (Figs. 78, 81, 84). Another sample was withdrawn when the patient was in a 
leukemic phase. The leukocyte count was 55 000/mm? and the erythrocyte count 
had fallen to 4+ 10® cells/mm?. The peripheral blood leukocytes were 95°, neutro- 
philic polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The patient terminated three months later with 
a picture of chronic granulocytic leukemia. Fig. 103 shows the pool from leukocytes 
of the blood of a normal individual (R. Lea.) and Fig. 104 the leukocytes obtained 
from the patient. The arrows in the figures point to the characteristically low glu- 
tamine and high glutamic acid and aspartic acid levels of the leukemic cells. The 
leukocyte samples from these two individuals were obtained on the same day and 
processed together so that variations due to the methods employed are minimal. 
The plastaa of the patient showed a high glutamic acid level similar to that illustrated 
in Fig. 78, while the erythrocyte free amino acids were not clearly different from 
normal. 
That the findings in patients with high neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocyte 
counts is characteristic for this blood picture is indicated by the results from normal 
and leukemic dogs. Figs. g7-99 were prepared from the plasma, erythrocytes, and 
leukocytes, respectively, of a normal dog, while Figs. 1oo-102 were prepared from 
plasma obtained from a leukemic dog with a white cell count of 160 000/mm?, 95°% 
of which were neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The leukemic dog re- 
mained markedly anemic despite frequent blood transfusions. At autopsy the animal 
showed findings expected for granulocytic leukemia. The marked increase of glutamic 
acid in blood plasma of the leukemic animal is clearly shown, while the aspartic 
acid level is nearly normal. Fig. tor shows the marked increase of glutamic acid in the 
erythrocytes and the almost complete absence of glutamine from the red cells of 
the leukemic dog in contrast to findings with erythrocytes of the normal dog (Fig. 98). 
Fig. 102 shows the marked increase of glutamic acid, and the distinct increase in 
aspartic acid in the neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leukocytes of the leukemic dog 
as compared to the morphologically similar cells from the normal dog. Glutamine is 
not detectable on the chromatogram from the leukemic dog. It is to be noted that the 
chromatogram shown in Fig. 99 was developed with lutidine-water for a slightly 
longer time than that shown in Fig. 102 so that the spots are spread out more in the 
vertical direction. 
The results with the leukemic patients and the leukemic dog with large numbers 
References p. 447/448 
