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Membrane difference in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Hodgkin's
Insights
Lymphocyte surface changes were observed in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and Hodgkin's disease, even during remission. These findings highlight persistent immune cell abnormalities in cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Lymphocyte surface markers are crucial for immune function.
- Alterations in lymphocyte surface properties can indicate disease states, including malignancies like chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and Hodgkin's disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate changes in lymphocyte surface membrane properties in patients with CLL and Hodgkin's disease, both in active disease and remission.
- To compare these changes with those in normal individuals and patients with other conditions.
Main Methods:
- Isolated lymphocytes from normal individuals and patients with various conditions (CLL, Hodgkin's disease, other tumors, cardiovascular diseases).
- Assessed lymphocyte cap formation, agglutinability by concanavalin A, and cell attachment to petri dishes.
Main Results:
- Lymphocytes from untreated Hodgkin's disease and CLL patients showed significantly lower cap formation frequencies.
- Lymphocytes from all patient groups, including those in remission, exhibited higher concanavalin A agglutinability than normal lymphocytes.
- Lymphocyte cell attachment was highest in CLL and CLL in remission, and low in normal individuals and other patient groups.
Conclusions:
- Significant differences in lymphocyte surface membrane properties exist between patients with CLL, Hodgkin's disease, and healthy individuals.
- Immune cell abnormalities persist in patients even after achieving clinical remission from CLL and Hodgkin's disease.
Abstract:
Lymphocytes were isolated from the peripheral blood of 21 normal persons and 66 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), CLL in remission, Hodgkin's disease, Hodgkin's disease in remission, various other tumors, or cardiovascular diseases; The lymphocytes were studied for cap formation and agglutinability by concanavalin A, and for cell attachment to the surface of a petri dish. The frequency of cap formation was lowest in lymphocytes from patients with untreated Hodgkin's disease (2.1 plus or minus 0.8%), next lowest in lymphocytes from patients with CLL who were or were not under treatment (7,0 plus or minus 1;3%), and also low in Hodgkin's disease in remission (10.6 plus or minus 1.2%). The frequencies of cap formation by lymphocytes from patients with various other tumors (19.1 plus or minus 2.5%), with CLL in remission (24.0 plus or minus 0.9%), and with nonmalignant diseases (26.0 plus or minus 2.2%) were more similar to the frequency found in lymphocytes from normal persons (29.4 plus or minus 2.8%). Lymphocytes from all the patients, including those in remission, showed a higher degree of agglutinability by concanavalin A than lymphocytes from normal persons. Cell attachment to a petri dish was highest with CLL, next highest with CLL in remission, and low for normal persons and all the other patients. Lymphocytes from normal persons that consisted predominantly of thymus-derived cells gave similar results to isolated normal bone marrow-derived cells. The results indicate that there were different changes in the surface membrane of lymphocytes from patients with CLL, CLL in remission, Hodgkin's disease, and Hodgkin's disease in remission, and that the patients in clinical remission still showed abnormalities in their lymphocytes.