日本熊本大学医学部教授高月清及美国波士顿大学的约翰·马菲博士等研究开发了使用经遗传工程学重组的白喉菌素杀死在西日本多发的血癌——成人T细胞白血病细胞的方法。至今对成人T细胞白血病还没有彻底治疗方法,此法根据症状可能在临床上有效。最近弄清了在患成人T细胞白血病患者的淋巴细胞中有很多蛋白质(受体),它与担任免疫指令角色的特殊蛋白质介素紧密结合,正常的淋巴细胞仅有1～3%的细胞有受体,而在患者的细胞中则有20～70%的细胞有这种受体。这好象在癌变上起着根本作用。高月教授的设想是,在白细胞介素2上加上杀死细胞的毒物,则只杀死恶性细胞,于是成功地把白细胞 Gao Yueqing, a professor of medicine at the University of Kumamoto in Japan, and Dr. John Maffy of the Boston University in the United States have researched and developed methods for killing adult human T-cell leukemia cells, which are multiple blood cancers in Western Japan, using genetically engineered recombinant diphtheria. There is no thorough treatment for adult T-cell leukemia so far. This method may be clinically effective depending on the symptoms. Recently, it has been clarified that there are many proteins (receptors) in the lymphocytes of patients suffering from adult T-cell leukemia. It binds closely to specific interleukins that are responsible for the immune instructions. Normal lymphocytes have only 1 to 3% of cells. Receptors, and 20 to 70% of cells in patients’ cells have this receptor. This seems to play a fundamental role in cancer. Professor Gao Yue’s hypothesis is that adding a poison that kills cells on interleukin 2 only kills malignant cells, and then successfully turns white blood cells into