Disordered development of macrophages in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Immune-mediated interactions during macrophage development in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

As part of an investigation of mononuclear phagocytes in malignant lymphoma, measurement of immune-mediated erythrophagocytosis and rosette formation was carried out on cells grown in suspension culture at the monocyte (Day 0) and macrophage (Day 6) stages; the culture medium contained autologous serum. Cells were derived from 10 patients with untreated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and from 12 normal individuals. The results were subjected to Analysis of Variance and demonstrated a significant difference between the two groups with respect to erythrophagocytosis but not to rosette formation. In the NHL group, the proportion of erythrophagocytic cells showed no significant increase between the monocyte and macrophage stages (0.07 to 0.09), in contrast to the marked increase seen in the normal group (0.09 to 0.24). In a pilot investigation to examine the possible role of factors in the serum, cells derived from the NHL patients were cultured with serum from healthy donors; they showed no significant difference in the immune-mediated functions from those grown in autologous serum. Overall, the results provide further quantitative evidence of defective macrophage maturation in NHL, presumably reflecting the compromise of host defence mechanisms.

Ultrastructural morphometry of human leucocytes in health and disease

In this review, the literature on ultrastructural morphometry of each of the main types of human blood leucocytes has been considered, together with the technical and numerical procedures essential for valid analysis. Quantitative data have been reported for these cell types in health and comparisons have been made with those in disease states. In monocytes, and in macrophages developing from them, subtle ultrastructural differences have been detected and quantitated in malignant lymphoma; as the mononuclear phagocytes were not themselves neoplastic, the changes may have related to defects in host defence. Change in the ultrastructural characteristics of leukaemic monoblasts have also been reported. Lymphocytes and malignant lymphoid cells have been extensively investigated: differences between different types and subsets have been shown to be present in both normal lymphocytes and their malignant counterparts in leukemias and lymphomas. Particular attention has been paid to morphometric assessment of nuclear shape and size in these disorders and to its possible value as a diagnostic tool. Granulocytes have so far been the subject of few morphometric studies, although in hypereosinophilic syndrome, cellular changes have been defined and have thrown light on the abnormal pattern of degranulation. There have also been scattered reports on the cells of acute myelogenous leukaemia. The use of computers and sophisticated statistical packages has greatly facilitated the application of multiple comparison procedures and has permitted discriminant analysis to be carried out where appropriate. This review shows that ultrastructural morphometry of leucocytes will have an increasing application in clinical pathology.

Morphometry of macrophage development in malignant lymphoma. Predictive value of discriminant analysis

Discriminant analysis of morphometric data on the ultrastructure of developing macrophages has been used to classify 62 individual subjects into one of the 3 groups of origin, namely normal, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, each finding being compared with the known diagnosis. The data had been obtained from blood monocytes grown in suspension culture over a period of 6 days, and related to whole cell, nucleus, nucleoli and mitochondria. Over 80% of subjects were correctly classified as between the 3 groups and over 90% as to their normality or otherwise. Although the non-specific nature of changes in defence cells makes it unlikely that morphometric studies of macrophages will find a place in the diagnosis of specific malignancies, the present work indicates it could be useful in assessing host response and hence prognosis and response to treatment. Discriminant analysis of quantitative differences in cell structure could have wide clinico-pathological application.