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Interleukin 2 (IL-2) can cause partial or complete tumor regression in approximately 20% of patients with renal cell carcinoma. Among the many physiologic effects of IL-2, decreased serum levels of the divalent cations magnesium (Mg) and calcium have been demonstrated, with corresponding decreases in their urinary excretion. We investigated the effect of IL-2 on lymphocyte Mg levels among patients receiving three different dosing regimens. Twenty-eight patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma were treated with high-dose intravenous, low-dose intravenous, or subcutaneous IL-2 therapy. Serum ionized Mg, urinary Mg, and peripheral blood mononuclear cell Mg levels were measured in samples from patients during treatment and compared with pretreatment levels. Serum Mg and ionized Mg levels decreased for all patients within 12 hours of treatment (P <.005) and remained low for the duration of therapy. Urinary Mg decreased in parallel with serum levels in all patients (P <.005). The peripheral blood mononuclear cell Mg content per cell increased within 24 hours of treatment (P <.005). The magnitude of these changes was similar during the first week of treatment for patients receiving intravenous or subcutaneous administration of IL-2. During IL-2 therapy, lymphocyte Mg increases coincident with serum Mg depletion. Mg availability may have functional implications for lymphocyte proliferation and integrin function.

We determined the magnesium content for two different Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines (EW 36 and CA 46) after transfer to new media for 7 consecutive days. Aliquots of the cell culture were washed and the cell pellet was obtained by centrifugation and lysed with distilled water with and without the addition of 0.25% lanthanum oxide. Magnesium was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The addition of lanthanum permitted the detection of between 8 and 40% more magnesium. The increased magnesium liberated by the addition of lanthanum was calculated as the "bound" magnesium. The results show that the total magnesium is inversely related and the bound magnesium directly related to the age of the cell culture. Thus, there is a decrease of lymphocyte magnesium content and an increase in the percentage of magnesium bound for these two cell lines with increasing age of the cell culture.

The tenth anniversary for the determination of magnesium in MBC shows progress, but fundamental questions are still unanswered. Uniformity of the methodology for the assay and the units for reporting the result is a key factor for the validity and comparability of results. There is relatively good agreement among investigators for the mean value of magnesium in MBC expressed with three different units. The MBC magnesium results do not correlate with serum or red blood cell magnesium concentrations in humans. There may be a correlation for magnesium between MBC and muscle and between magnesium and potassium in MBC. The correlation for magnesium between MBC and muscle or other body tissues, particularly bone, needs to be defined for the clinical utility of the assay. A number of studies to date suggest a possible clinical utility for the MBC magnesium assay in several disease entities. Thus, the MBC magnesium assay has come a long way in a relatively short time. The future for the assay is uncertain but does hold hope that this relatively simple test can provide useful information about intracellular or total body magnesium status.

We present a sample preparation method for measuring magnesium in individual whole lymphocytes by electron probe X-ray microanalysis. We use Burkitt's lymphoma cells in culture as the test sample and compare X-ray microanalysis of individual cells with atomic absorption analysis of pooled cell populations. We determine the magnesium peak-to-local continuum X-ray intensity ratio by electron probe X-ray microanalysis and calculate a mean cell magnesium concentration of 39 +/- 19 mmol/kg dry weight from analysis of 100 cells. We determine a mean cell magnesium concentration of 34 +/- 4 mmol/kg dry weight by atomic absorption analysis of pooled cells in three cell cultures. The mean cell magnesium concentrations determined by the two methods are not significantly different. We find a 10% coefficient of variation for both methods of analysis and a 30% coefficient of variation in magnesium concentration among individual cells by electron probe X-ray microanalysis. We wash cells in ammonium nitrate for microanalysis or in buffered saline glucose for atomic absorption analysis. We find cells washed in either solution have the same cell viability (85%), recovery (75%), cell volume (555 microns 3) and cytology. We air dry cells on thin film supports and show by magnesium X-ray mapping that magnesium is within the cells. We conclude that: our microanalysis cell preparation method preserves whole intact lymphocytes; there is no systematic difference in results from the two methods of analysis; electron probe X-ray microanalysis can determine the variation in magnesium concentration among individual cells.

The population of mononuclear blood cells (MBCs) separated by a discontinuous gradient from healthy normal volunteers consists of lymphocytes (L), monocytes (M) and relatively few granulocytes (G). We attempted to remove the phagocytic cells (M and G) by pretreatment of the blood with carbonyl iron particles (CIP). In 50 volunteers (21 males and 29 females, ages 17-75, mean 33.3 years), we determined the content and concentration of Mg in MBCs before and after pretreatment with CIP. The results (mean +/- SEM) show a significant decrease in the MBC Mg content (from 3.12 +/- 0.08 to 2.39 +/- 0.05 fmol/cell; p less than 0.0001), concentration (from 10.4 +/- 0.2 to 9.6 +/- 0.3 mmol/l; p less than 0.004) and M percentage (from 14.5 +/- 1.0 to 1.0 +/- 0.2%; p less than 0.0001) after CIP pretreatment. The L percentage significantly increased from 81.6 +/- 1.0 to 96.1 +/- 0.2% (p less than 0.0001) after CIP pretreatment. These date suggest that M have both a larger content and concentration of Mg than L.

We describe and compare two methods for the determination of magnesium concentration in lymphocytes from cell cultures. The magnesium concentration of lymphocytes was 36 +/- 4 mmol/kg dry weight by atomic absorption spectroscopy analysis and 39 +/- 19 mmol/kg dry weight with electron probe X-ray microanalysis. We found no significant difference between the results for the two methods. The coefficient of variation was 30% for magnesium concentration among individual cells with electron probe X-ray microanalysis.