Quantitative evaluation of monocyte differentiation by electron microscopy: impairment of differentiation ability in...

The differentiation of monocytes was evaluated quantitatively by electron microscopy and was analyzed in relation to the clinical features of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The monocyte cellular size increased and cell organellae became mature after a 72-h culture. Phagolysosome formation developed markedly- and the nucleus became circular--accompanied by chromatin deconcentration. The differentiation degree of the cell organellae was indexed and classified as mature by electron microscopy. The indexes of nuclear shape, chromatin deconcentration, cytoplasmonuclear ratio and vacuole formation increased with time. The total index increased linearly with time dependence. These results indicate that the ultrastructural parameters and indexes allowed a quantitative assessment of cell organellae and cellular differentiation of the monocyte. At the acute phase of ALL, the degrees of cell organnellae and cellular differentiation were significantly lower than the control. The above findings suggest that monocytes from children with ALL have impaired differentiation ability, which results in defective function of macrophages.