Lorenzo Bonomo

Platelet satellitism to basophils in a patient with chronic myelocytic leukaemia

SummaryPlatelet satellitism to basophil granulocytes was observed in a patient with chronic myelocytic leukaemia. This phenomenon occurred with peripheral basophil cells obtained from venous blood anticoagulated with EDTA. Previous reports have demonstrated platelet satellitism to polymorphonuclear neutrophils and monocytes but not to other types of white blood cells. The cause of the platelet satellitism in this CML case remains unclear. It is suggested that this rare phenomenon should be considered in evaluating the platelet number in CML.

Cryoimmunoglobulinemia in Four Sisters

Mixed-typed cryoproteins, consisting of IgG and IgM, were demonstrated in the sera of four sisters. While the IgG component was polyclonal in every instance, in two of them the IgM component was found to be monoclonal with type chi light chains. Clinical diagnoses included the purpura-weakness-arthralgias syndrome, posthepatitis cirrhosis, congestive heart failure and mitral stenosis. The cryocrit differed in the four sisters, ranging from 3 to 16%; in addition, rheumatoid factor activity was consistently associated with both washed cryoprecipitates and their isolated IgM components. Endomembraneous deposits of IgG and IgM were revealed by immunofluorescent studies of the renal biopsy specimen from one patient. A genetic abnormality, possibly of the autosomal recessive type, is suggested in this instance of familial cryoglobulinemia.

Macrophages in skin cancer: quantitative and functional studies.

The number of tumor-infiltrating macrophages was estimated in 43 patients with skin cancer, including 18 cases of squamous cell and 25 cases of basal cell carcinoma. Macrophages were identified in cell cultures by 2 assays, namely phagocytosis and resistance to detachment by trypsin. The average percentage of adherent cells for the 2 groups of skin tumors was 4.5 ± 2.6 and 10.2 ± 5.2, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant. Follow-up studies after surgical excision of the primary neoplasm showed a relatively low macrophage content in 2 of the 4 cases in which local recurrences occurred. Preliminary functional studies suggested that soluble factors may be released by neoplastic cells, accounting for the inhibitory effect of tumor cell supernatants on macrophage Chemotaxis in vitro.

The expanding spectrum of clinical and laboratory features of IgE myeloma

SummaryA new case of IgE myeloma is described. Patient G.M., a 60-year-old woman, complained with a 3-months’ history of generalized bone pain, weight loss, profound weakness and severe anemia. A bone survey revealed multiple lytic lesions, and a heavy replacement by plasma cells was disclosed in the bone marrow examination of a sternal sample. In addition, an IgE serum M-component and γ-type Bence Jones proteinuria were identified by immunochemical studies. The disease course was rapid, death occurring within 6 months of clinical onset. A molecular weight of 188,500 daltons was calculated for the purified protein G.M., whereas the molecular weights of its subunits were found to be 72,000 for the ε chains and 43,000 for the γ chain dimers. This case is compared with 15 reported cases of IgE monoclonal gammapathy, an expanding clinical and laboratory spectrum emerging from the review of the literature.

α-Fetoprotein and Australia Antigen in Primary Liver Cancer

Sera from patients with neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases, as well as from full-term newborns and pregnant women were examined for the presence of α-fetoprotein (α-FP) by counterimmunoelectrophor

Anti-gamma Globulin Factors and Malignancies

Patients with various malignancies were investigated for the presence of anti-gamma-globulin factors (AGGF). The cases with neoplasms of different tissues showed a significative incidence of positive tests for the AGGF as detected by the latex slide test (26.4%), human FII tanned sheep cell agglutination (34.5%) and sensitized sheep cell agglutination (8.4%). In the myeloid and lymphatic leukemias the incidence of AGGF was not higher than in patients with other diseases.

Immune function in patients with multiple myeloma

SummaryImmunologic function was evaluated in 27 patients with multiple myeloma (MM). When tested for their ability to develop delayed hypersensitivity to a panel of skin test antigens, 2 out of 15 such patients were found to be anergic. The property of human peripheral blood T lymphocytes to form rosettes with sheep [total E and active or early or early rosette-forming cells (RFC)] and human erythrocytes (H-RFC) was also studied. In addition, rosette formation with mouse erythrocytes (M-RFC) was investigated as a B cell marker. Decreased proportions of total E-RFC were found in one third of the patients with MM when compared to normal volunteers. By contrast, both mean percentages and ranges of active E-RFC, H-RFC, and M-RFC in the MM patients overlapped those revealed in healthy controls. The rosette-forming ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes was tested before and after treatment with levamisole, thymosin, and transfer factor in healthy controls, as well as in some groups of patients with MM, active systemiclupus erythematosus and Hodgkin’s disease. A positive effect of all three immunomodulating agents could only be demonstrated on cells from T cell-deficient patients. It is suggested that the immunodeficiency syndrome associated with MM and related malignancies may reflect quantitative and possibly selective defects of lymphocyte subpopulations.

Leucemia acuta a promielociti cosiddetti basofili

SummaryAcute leukaemia with so-called basophilic promyelocytes is a form of myelogenous leukaemia with peculiar cytoenzymatic patterns. The abundant metachromatic substance and the particular esterase activities (double naphthol-AS and chloroesterase incubation) of these promyelocytes differ from other promyelocytic leukaemias. It is interesting to note that chloroesterase-positive Auer bodies are present in both leukaemic cells with mixed esterase activity and in leukaemic cells with naphthol-AS esterase activity. We believe that this consideration is pointed out here for the first time. Some rare elements, morphologically similar to promyelocytes, displayMicrococcus lysodeicticus lytic activity. These are usually monocytes mistaken for promyelocytes. The characteristics of promyelocytic, so-called basophilic leukaemia described in this paper differentiate it from other myelogenous leukaemias.RiassuntoLa leucemia acuta a promielociti cosiddetti basofili è una forma di leucemia mielogena che presenta particolaripatterns citochimici, rappresentati principalmente da una notevole quantità di sostanza metacromatica negli elementi leucemici e da un particolare comportamento delle attività esterasiche (doppia incubazione naftol-AS e cloroesterasica) diverso da quello di altre leucemie a promielociti. È interessante sottolineare il fatto che i corpi di Auer, con esclusiva attività cloroesterasica, sono presenti in cellule leucemiche con attività esterasica mista ed in cellule con esclusiva attività naftol-AS esterasica, osservazione questa segnalata per la prima volta a nostra conoscenza. Inoltre alcuni rari elementi, morfologicamente simili ad elementi promielocitari, mostrano attività litica nei conftonti delMicrococcus lysodeicticus: sarebbero quindi elementi monocitari scambiati per promielociti. Le caratteristiche descritte in questa leucemia a promielociti cosiddetti basofili tendono a differenziare questa forma leucemica da altre leucemie mielogene.

IgG-ANTI-IgG FACTORS AND IgG-β1c COMPLEXES IN RHEUMATOID SYNOVIAL TISSUE*

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a study examining IgG-anti-IgG factors and IgG-β1C complexes in rheumatoid synovial tissue. Needle biopsy specimens obtained from seven seropositive and three seronegative patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were studied. Synovial specimens obtained during surgical procedures from normal subjects were used as controls. A fluorescein-isothyocyanate (FITC) conjugated monoclonal human IgM with strong anti-human IgG activity and a tetramethylrhodamine-isothyocyanate (TMRITC) conjugated aggregated rabbit IgG. The IgM with anti-IgG activity detected human IgG either aggregated or bound in an immune complex while it did not react with rabbit IgG as shown by the sensitized sheep cell and tanned cell agglutination methods. To detect AGF, the aggregated rabbit IgG was used instead of aggregated human IgG to avoid reaction of the latter with the other reactant. Deposits showing the concurrent presence of IgG and AGF were detected in the synovia of all seven seropositive RA cases. The distribution of the globulins was either extracellular, interstitial, or vascular.