Cytotoxic lymphocytes in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A flow cytometric study of peripheral blood, lymph nodes and bone marrow.
The occurrence of cytotoxic lymphocyte subpopulations (i.e., CD 16+, CD 57+ and cytotoxic CD 8+) wa studied in the peripheral blood of 18 B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) patients. The absolute numbers of CD 57+, CD 16+ and cytotoxic CD 8+ lymphocytes were increased in the peripheral blood of untreated patients as compared with healthy donors, suggesting a causal relation with the accumulation of malignant B-cells. For 5 B-CLL patients and 5 hematological normal donors, the lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood, lymph nodes and bone marrow were determined. A significant immune response was observed in the lymph nodes of the patients, as reflected by the CD 3+ lymphocytes, which were 1.7-27 times larger in the patients lymph nodes than in their peripheral blood and bone marrow. In contrast, with peripheral blood this was mainly caused by an increase in CD 4+ lymphocytes. The CD 57 lymphocytes in the lymph nodes of the patients had abnormal orthogonal light-scattering signals and an abnormal density of CD 57+ receptors in comparison with their peripheral blood CD 57+ lymphocytes or the CD 57+ lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, bone marrow and tonsils of the hematological normal donors. This study shows that although a significant increase of cytotoxic lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of B-CLL patients is observed, the actual distributions of the non-malignant lymphocytes can be quite different at the actual tumor sites, i.e., bone marrow and lymph nodes.
University of Twente, Department of Applied Physics, Enschede, The Netherlands.
L W
LW
Terstappen
B G
BG
de Grooth
I
I
Segers-Nolten
J
J
Greve
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000032:analysis; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D018959:CD57 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D015448:Leukemia, B-Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000032:analysis; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*
D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D018959:CD57 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell