Tetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase cytochemistry and classification of acute leukaemia

A qualitative and quantitative cytochemical assay of dihydrofolate reductase in erythroid cells

The distribution and intensity of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) cytochemically demonstrable was studied in erythroid cells. Cells of normal human bone marrow, of human erythroleukaemia (M6), and cells of the Friend (MEL) clone 745A murine erythroleukaemia (also after differentiation with dimethylsulphoxide, DMSO) were stained according to Gerzeli and de Piceis Polver (1969) technique; quantification of the reaction product was made using a Vickers M86 microdensitometer. The enzyme activity progressively decreased during the normal differentiation of the erythropoietic series while persisted at high levels in erythroleukaemia cells. It can be suggested that in the 1st case, the cytochemical pattern of dihydrofolate reductase may be a useful added tool for studying the erythroid differentiation. In the 2nd case, the increased level of this enzyme may be related to an amplification of the gene of DHFR in the malignant transformation.

Tetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase cytochemistry in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

We studied the cytochemical distribution of tetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (FH4D), an enzyme involved in nucleic acid metabolism and thus in cell proliferation and differentiation processes, in bone marrow blasts from 37 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), of whom 23 were pediatric patients. 26 cases were analyzed at onset, 11 in relapse. The ALL cases were immunologically classified as T (10), common (20), B (3) and null (4). In each subgroup the majority of lymphoblasts were positive, with heterogeneous positivity patterns and variable degrees of enzyme activity. Most T lymphoblasts were characterized by focal localization of FH4D, whereas in common blasts reactivity - usually less strong - was either focally localized or scattered with several fine granules. Finally, many B and null blasts showed diffuse positivity. A quantitative evaluation of FH4D activity using cytophotometric technique (Vickers M86) demonstrated higher degrees of reactivity in leukemic blasts than in normal lymphocytes. Moreover, slightly different levels of reactivity were observed in relation to immunological phenotype, age and stage of the disease. Therefore we think that FH4D is a useful additional marker for ALL characterization.

Dihydrofolate reductase activity in the Purkinje neuron populations of some non-mammalian vertebrates

The intensity and distribution of histochemically demonstrable dihydrofolate reductase (FH2-R EC 1.5.1.3.) in unfixed cryostat sections was studied in Purkinje neurons of adult vertebrates that have either simple neural circuits and cytoarchitectonics (Ictalurus nebulosus, Rana esculenta) or complex neural circuits and cytoarchitectonics (Coturnix coturnix japonica), compared with the rat as a control. The reaction was generally undetectable in Ictalurus nebulosus and in Rana esculenta; with positive reactions in only a few neurons. On the contrary, FH2-R in the Purkinje cell population of Coturnix coturnix japonica had several pattern (heterogeneity) as in the rat. These results suggest that the existence of FH2-R in Purkinje cell population may be correlated with the complexity of the neural circuits of the vertebrate's cerebellum and that the "heterogeneity" of the reaction may be related to the different functional states of the Purkinje cells within the cerebellum.