Ultrastructural characteristics of the "hairy cells" of leukemic reticuloendotheliosis.
The pathognomonic neoplastic reticulum cells, or "hairy cells" of leukemic reticuloendotheliosis from 6 patients were studied with the electron microscope. These cells demonstrated characteristic ultrastructural features which were distinctly different from those of lymphocytes, monocytes, or histiocytes. In 3 patients a distinctive ribosome-lamella complex was found. The biologic significance of this unusual cytoplasmic inclusion is still unknown. Its frequent presence in leukemic reticuloendotheliosis and its rarity in other neoplastic diseases suggest a substantial yet unexplained relationship between this complex and leukemic reticuloendotheliosis.
D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D006801:Humans; D002479:Inclusion Bodies; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000473:pathology*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D012270:Ribosomes; D013154:Spleen / Q000473:pathology