Ag-NOR staining and satellite association in lymphoproliferative disorders

The nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) activity and the frequency of satellite associations (SA) in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with two chronic lymphoproliferative disorders were studied: 10 cases with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) and 10 with mycosis fungoides (MF). Thirteen healthy individuals formed the MF control group, and the oldest 7 constituted the B-CLL control group. The mean of Ag-NORs per metaphase was increased in B-CLL patients (8.80 +/- 0.63) compared with their controls (7.99 +/- 0.90) (P less than 0.025), meanwhile MF patients' value did not differ from their controls. In both disorders, the frequency of Ag-NORs in the G chromosomes was increased. The analysis of SA in B-CLL patients only revealed an increase in the frequency of cells with more than 4 ASPs (association pairs). Meanwhile, a significant higher mean of ASPs per cell in MF patients (1.74 +/- 0.41) compared to controls (1.40 +/- 0.24) (P less than 0.05) was observed. Furthermore, a close correlation between cells with complexes of 3 or more chromosomes and the mean of ASPs per cell was also found in MF. In conclusion, an increase of the Ag-NORs expression in B-CLL patients and a modification in the degree of SA in MF patients were found.