Primary granulocytic leukemia in the rat.

SUMMARY Granulocytic leukemia is a rare disease in the rat; it seldom occurs spontaneously although chemical agents and ionizing radiation may increase the incidence in some rat strains. The disease resembles granulocytic leukemia in man and the leukemic cells possess a number of interesting enzymatic and other features. Granulocytic leukemia is readily transplantable and the leukemic cells grow well in vitro. This disease presents an excellent opportunity for investigation of granulocytic proliferation and differentia tion; it may provide a unique test system for evaluation of chemotherapy and immunotherapy and serve as an animal model for acute granulocytic leukemia in man.