Summary
Electron microscopic studies were performed on normal myeloblasts obtained from 28 hospital personnel and leukemic myeloblasts obtained from 6 patients with acute leukemia. The quantitative results were similar in both groups except for increased granules found in the leukemic myeloblasts. In addition, the leukemic myeloblasts showed nuclear pockets, deep nuclear indentations, nucleosomes, centrioles located in nuclear pockets, accumulations of microfibrilles, partially disrupted mitochondria with virus-like particles and DNA threads, glycogen and myelin whorls. The finding of centrioles with their spindle fibers in nuclear pockets may have important clinical implications in regard to vincristine therapy. The finding of DNA fibers in the leukemic mitochondria was probably related to the disruption of the mitochondria which facilitated such an observation. The presence of virus-like particles within the mitochondria may possibly offer important clues to leukemogenesis from a viral and biochemical standpoint, however, this requires much more investigation. It would appear that qualitative and not quantitative changes are the essence of differences between leukemic and normal myeloblasts. This ultrastructural study has demonstrated findings which may have important practical and theoretical applications to acute leukemia.
Zusammenfassung
Die Ergebnisse elektronenmikroskopischer Untersuchungen von normalen Myeloblasten von 28 Krankenhausangestellten und leukämischen Myeloblasten von 6 Patienten mit akuter Leukämie werden berichtet. In beiden Gruppen waren die quantitative Resultate vergleichbar, mit der Ausnahme einer erhöhten Anzahl von Granula in den leukämischen Myeloblasten. Zusätzlich wiesen die leukämischen Myeloblasten Säcke und tiefe Einbuchtungen im Zellkern auf, sowie Nukleosomen, Lokalisierung der Zentriolen in Zellkernsäcken, Anhäufungen von Mikrofibrillen, teilweise zerstörte Mitochondrien mit virusgleichen Strukturen und DNS-Fasern, Glykogen und Myelinwirbeln. Die Lokalisierung von Zentriolen mit ihren Spindelfasern innerhalb der Zellkernsäcke mag auf bedeutsame klinische Anwendung bezüglich Vincristintherapie weisen. Die Beobachtung von DNS-Fasern in leukämischen Mitochondrien war wahrscheinlich mit der Zerstörung der Struktur solcher Mitochondrien verbunden und dadurch erleichtert. Die Anwesenheit von virusgleichen Strukturen in leukämischen Mitochondrien bietet möglicherweise wichtige virologische und biochemische Hinweise bezüglich der Leukemogenese, bedarf jedoch weiterer eingehenderer Studien. Scheinbar sind die qualitativen und nicht quantitativen Veränderungen die maßgebenden Unterschiede zwischen leukämischen und normalen Myeloblasten. Die hier berichtete ultrastrukturelle Studie befaßt sich mit Beobachtungen, welche bedeutende praktische und theoretische Anwendungen auf dem Gebiet der akuten Leukämie haben können.
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Schumacher, H.R., Szekely, I.E. & Park, S.A. Ultrastructural studies on the acute leukemic myeloblast. Blut 25, 169–178 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01632389
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01632389