title: Expression of decay-accelerating factor and CD59 in lymphocyte subsets of healthy individuals and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria patients.
abstract: The expression of phosphatidylinositol (PI)-anchored complement-regulatory membrane proteins on circulating blood cells has been well clarified; however, the PI proteins on lymphocyte subsets have not been fully analyzed yet. We examined the expression of decay-accelerating factor (DAF) and CD59 on the T lymphocytes (CD2+, CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+) and CD20+ B lymphocytes in ten healthy volunteers and 12 paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) patients by cytofluorometry. In healthy controls, each subset of lymphocytes showed a small population of cells weakly positive and a large population of cells strongly positive for DAF and CD59, while erythrocytes showed a single population of cells positive for the PI proteins. The two-population expression of DAF was most distinctive in CD8+ T cells among the subsets. In PNH, each subset of lymphocytes showed a moderately higher population of cells weakly positive and a smaller population of cells strongly positive for the membrane proteins compared with those in the healthy controls. Moreover, in some PNH cases, a negative population for the proteins was found in all subsets. Thus the analysis of PI-anchored proteins on lymphocytes subsets (especially CD8+ T cells) was considered to be of diagnostic value in PNH patients who receive blood transfusion after hemolytic attack of affected erythrocytes. Furthermore, the two-population expression of PI proteins in normal lymphocytes suggests that membrane PI protein would be a new subset marker of lymphocytes.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagakura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakakuma
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Horikawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hidaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kagimoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawakita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takatsuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood*; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D018958:CD55 Antigens; D018957:CD59 Antigens; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006457:Hemoglobinuria, Paroxysmal / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D001798:Blood Proteins; D018958:CD55 Antigens; D018957:CD59 Antigens; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins