Satellite Nucleoli in Blastic Cells of Human Acute Leukemias

Abstract

The visualization of satellite nucleoli (SN) was facilitated by the introduction of methods for the demonstration of characteristic nucleolar components such as protein B23, C23 and fibrillarin (Figure 1). Previous studies indicated that SN apparently represent solitary NORs which did not fuse and participate in the formation of characteristic nucleoli after mitosis (Smetana et al., 1987). Concerning blood cells, SN were observed only in human peripheral lymphocytes in a relatively small but constant percentage of cells (Smetana et al., 1986). Therefore, the present study was undertaken to provide more information on SN in blood cells and especially in early developmental stages of lymphocytes, granulocytes and monocytes. These cells are present in the peripheral blood of chemotherapeutically untreated patients suffering of acute leukemias and are easily accessible for specific immunoreactions.