Possible prognostic value of nucleolar morphology in pathologic cells of B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) represents a heterogeneous disease with a very variable outcome. The reliable prognosis of this disease at the time of initial diagnosis is difficult to predict. The purpose of this preliminary study was to utilize the nucleolar morphology and to investigate the incidence of main nucleolar types in leukemic lymphocytes in B-CLL patients to assess their possible predictive value for the disease outcome, in correlation with immunophenotype parameters.

Immunophenotype characterization of hematopoietic stem cells, progenitor cells restricted to myeloid lineage and their leukemia counterparts.

The aim of this review is to evaluate recent immunophenotype knowledge of hematopoietic stem cells and their restricted progenies committed to myeloid lineage - common myeloid progenitors, myelo-monocytic progenitors, megakaryo-erythroid progenitors and granulocyte progenitors up to mature neutrophil granulocyte. This study evaluates also recent knowledge of immunophenotype of leukemic stem cells and their more differentiated progeny committed to myeloid lineage - acute myeloid leukemia blast cells with regard to their phenotypic similarity to normal stem and granulocyte committed progenitor cells. Improved knowledge of normal stem and progenitor cells phenotypes, identifying new leukemia-specific markers, searching for aberrant marker expression and evaluation of aberrant intensity or combination of various marker expressions is important for distinguishing normal cells from their malignant counterpart in view of the diagnostics of leukemias or follow-up of minimal residual disease.

Immunophenotyping parameters as prognostic factors in T-acute leukemia patients.

The main aim of this study represents the extension of our studies using multiparametric flow cytometry analysis for exact definition of membrane and intracellular (cytoplasmic and nuclear) markers of acute leukemia cells of T-phenotype. The study of blasts of each patient with all available monoclonal antibodies targeted to T-cell differential antigens and against possible marker coexistence from different lineages has been performed. The main aim was concerned to more proper T-ALL diagnosis and stage definition and identification of the prognostic factors and the useful markers for the follow-up of T-ALL in remission.

Normal maturation sequence of immunoglobulin light and heavy chains in hematogone stages 1, 2 and 3 in acute leukemia after treatment.

The cellular diversity of bone marrow samples was studied by using multi-dimensional cluster analysis of six-parametric flow cytometry data (four CD, forward scatter and side scatter), focusing mainly on acute leukemia blast cells and regeneration of normal B-cells, hematogones. This approach should enhance the ability to study normal hematopoiesis, and to identify and monitor hematopoietic disorders. The study was performed on a homogeneous group of patients (mainly children), all of them after finishing complete therapy for AL, mostly B-ALL.

Hematogones in acute leukemia during and after therapy.

After each leukemia therapy phase, characteristics of normal regenerating B-cells may be reminiscent of and mistaken for a relapse. We compared the incidence and phenotypic characteristics of hematogone stages in a total of 669 bone marrow aspirates from 107 patients with B-ALL, 97 patients of AML, and 27 patients with T-ALL at diagnosis, during, and after therapy. The three individual physiological maturation phases of B-lymphocytes (hematogone stages 1, 2, and 3) were studied by four-color flow cytometry in the course of bone marrow regeneration in leukemia patients.