2
remove neuroblastomas and leukemias from human bone marrow
with unparalled efficiency (Treleaven et al., 1984).
Fortunately, one of only two laboratories in the United
States that uses this method clinically is at the
University of Florida in the Department of Pediatrics.
Through the aid of a mutual friend (science is as human an
endeavor as is anything else) I enlisted the aid of Dr.
Adrian Gee, the scientist in charge of such bone marrow
"purging" at U.F. He and his entire laboratory remained
committed to me for supplying microspheres and antibody
with which to coat them from the conception to completion
of my research.
Since then much time was spent on developing a simple
and effective procedure and separation chamber that would
be suitable for the separation of embryonic brain cells. At
first, it seemed that my procedure was not accomplishing
separations since apparent target cells were always in what
was hoped to be purified populations of nontarget cells. It
then became quite clear that these target cells were
appearing from nontarget cells after the separations. This
in itself was a unique and unexpected finding. It was
subsequently found that when different age embryonic cells
were separated that the target cells which appeared in the
purified populations apparently developed different
phenotypes according to the age separated. Early embryonic
cells appeared to be able to compensate for the depletion