Acquired red cell pyruvate kinase deficiency in leukemias and related disorders

The authors studied red blood cell pyruvate kinase activity of 202 patients with various hemopathies. A PK deficiency of moderate grade was found in 39% of patients with acute myeloblastic leukemias, in 57% of those with primary medullary insufficiency without aplasia, in 61% of those with refractory sideroblastic anemia. The PK deficiency was often associated with deficiencies of other red cell enzymes. The mechanism of such enzyme abnormalities was discussed with the hypothesis of a post-translational molecular alteration.