Tubercidin preparation

DETAILED DESCRIPTION What is claimed is: 1.
Tubercidin-containing human red blood cells prepared by: 1.
mixing whole blood and a physiological saline solution of tubercidin, the amount of tubercidin providing a concentration of 50 to 200 mcg.
per milliliter of the blood; 2.
incubating the mixture of blood and tubercidin for from 30 to 60 minutes at from room temperature to 37.
degree.
C.
; and 3.
centrifuging the incubated mixture to recover the tubercidin-containing red blood cells.
2.
Tubercidin containing human red blood cells prepared according to claim 1 and additionally processed by washing to remove free tubercidin.




Description:
This invention relates to a therapeutic composition, a method for its preparation, and a method for its use.
More particularly, this invention relates to therapeutic compositions and methods involving tubercidin-containing blood cells.
Tubercidin is a known antibiotic which can be produced by the methods disclosed in U.
S.
Pat.
No.
3,167,540, issued on Jan.
26, 1965, for the preparation of sparsomycin A, which is another name for tubercidin.
Some of its pharmacologic properties are disclosed in J.
Antibiotics [A] X:201-204, 1957, and Cancer Chemotherapy Reports, No.
36, March, 1964, 19-22.
Thus, tubercidin has been used in the treatment of cancer and Mycosis fungoides and is of considerable interest in other areas of therapy where its cytotoxicity and its unique property of being absorbed selectively by blood cells can come into play.
Whatever its ultimate applications in therapy may be, tubercidin is of sufficient interest to make it desirable to prepare tubercidin in a form which will avoid the present difficulties presented by the clinical administration of tubercidin.
For example, severe toxicity has occurred at the site of injection in man and animals when tubercidin is administered parenterally.
Its "leaking" from the injection site may lead to destruction of the surrounding tissue cells.
Tubercidin has also been implicated in kidney toxicity