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Normal granulocyte function but impaired monocyte function in a patient with aplastic anemia
A Zabernigg1, W Hilbe, N Reinisch
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
Granulocytopenia is an invariable finding in aplastic anemia (AA) and bacterial infections are a frequent complication and major cause of death in patients suffering from this bone marrow disorder. Using well-established assays, we determined the chemotaxis of granulocytes and monocytes as well as the phagocytic capacity of monocytes and oxidative metabolism of granulocytes in a patient with aplastic anemia of unknown etiology. Our results indicate a normal granulocyte oxidative metabolism and granulocyte chemotaxis towards formyl-leucyl-methionyl-phenylalanine (fMLP), whereas monocyte chemotaxis and phagocytic capacity were markedly reduced in this patient.
Granulocytopenia is an invariable finding in aplastic anemia (AA) and bacterial infections are a frequent complication and major cause of death in patients suffering from this bone marrow disorder. Using well-established assays, we determined the chemotaxis of granulocytes and monocytes as well as the phagocytic capacity of monocytes and oxidative metabolism of granulocytes in a patient with aplastic anemia of unknown etiology. Our results indicate a normal granulocyte oxidative metabolism and granulocyte chemotaxis towards formyl-leucyl-methionyl-phenylalanine (fMLP), whereas monocyte chemotaxis and phagocytic capacity were markedly reduced in this patient.