Induction of immune resistance against L1210 lymphatic leukemia in mice after chemoradiotherapy of the leukemia and reconstitution with bone marrow purged from the leukemia with mafosfamide

Lymphatic leukemia L1210-bearing semisyngeneic Balb/c x DBA/2WfF₁ (CD2F₁) mice were subjected to chemoradiotherapy (2 x 100 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide i.p. and 1000 cGy of total body irradiation) and reconstitution with 10⁷ syngeneic bone marrow cells i.v. The bone marrow obtained from leukemic mice was previously ex vivo purged of the leukemia cells with mafosfamide (ASTA Z7654) and stored in liquid nitrogen. Eight weeks after cytoreductive therapy and bone marrow transplantation we tried to immunize the mice against the lethal dose of the leukemia by i.p. injections of L1210-Maf cells (L1210 cells treated in vitro with mafosfamide for inhibition of their growth). About 75% of such mice were able to reject the subsequent 10³ L1210 leukemia cell challenge, as compared with 70% of normal immunized mice and 55% of mice reconstituted with bone marrow cells not treated with mafosfamide.