[Histological and immunohistochemical characteristics of diffuse large cell B-cell lymphomas]. / Gistologicheskaia i immunogistokhimicheskaia kharakteristika diffuznykh krupnokletochnykh B-kletochnykh limfom.

In the REAL classification, diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are grouped together. We investigated histological variants and immunohistochemical profile of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas in 53 patients. Accuracy of the diagnosis was 73.6% without immunohistochemistry. The usefulness of immunophenotyping in making the correct diagnosis depended on a specific histological variant of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Variants with polymorphic and anaplastic morphology or massive reactive component have been diagnosed by routine histological methods with poor validity.

[Certain biochemical features of leukocytes in blast crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia]. / Nekotorye biokhimicheskie osobennosti leikotsitov pri blastnom krize khronicheskogo mieloleikoza.

The content of nuclear high mobility group (HMG) proteins, activities of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), adenosine deaminase (ADA) and purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and also glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content and composition were studied in leukocytes of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in the phase of blast crisis (BC CML). Myeloid and lymphoid cytochemical variants of BC CML differ by biochemical parameters. It is suggested, that the content of HMG-proteins, activities of ODC and PNP, and electrophoretic patterns of GAGs could be used in diagnostics of two main variants of BC CML.

A rapid RT-PCR based method for the detection of BCR-ABL translocation.

AIMS: To optimise a one step reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) protocol for BCR-ABL chimaera detection. METHODS: Compared with published RT-PCR procedures, this novel approach has at least two advantages. First, the same enzyme is used for both reverse transcription and PCR. Second, amplification of the target (BCR-ABL chimaera) and control gene (ABL) is performed simultaneously in the same tube. RESULTS: On testing 40 chronic myelogenous leukaemia patients and 10 healthy donors there was a specificity for the newly developed technique. In addition, dilution experiments demonstrated that the protocol was highly sensitive. CONCLUSIONS: The suggested one step PCR strategy is a simple and reliable way to reveal BCR-ABL chimaeras.

[Is the cytogenetic verification of chronic myeloleukemia always obligatory?]. / Vsegda li obiazatel'na tsitogeneticheskaia verifikatsiia khronicheskogo mieloleikoza?

To elucidate feasibility of accurate diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) without cytogenetic and molecular-genetic investigations as well as to specify CML diagnostic criteria, clinicohematological parameters were compared in two groups of patients: with Ph'-chromosome and/or rearrangement of fragment bcr (group 1), with unknown karyotype in whom detection of bcr fragment rearrangement was not made. Clinicohematological parameters in both groups were close in absolute value and underwent parallel changes in the course of leukemia progression. In group 1, patients in progressive and blastic phase compared to patients in chronic phase had a 14-fold increase in the number of additional cytogenetic anomalies. In patients with tumor transformation fragment bcr underwent rearrangement according to type B2A2. Thus, the diagnosis of typical CML variants is feasible without detection of Ph'-chromosome and/or rearrangement of bcr fragment. It is especially true and essential for patients in the chronic phase. The data obtained provide more accurate diagnostic criteria of CML.

[Polyamine levels and biosynthesis in leukocytes during leukemic transformation]. / Soderzhanie i biosintez poliaminov v leikotsitakh pri leikoznoi transformatsii.

The content of polyamines, rate of their biosynthesis, and activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODK), the key regulatory enzyme in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway, have been studied in the leukocytes of healthy persons and of patients with various forms of leukemia. The polyamine levels and the rate of their biosynthesis were considerably higher in lymphocytes than in granulocytes. In leukemias, as the cell population rejuvenated, both the polyamine content and the spermidine/spermine ratio were found to be markedly elevated approaching the maximal values in human blast cells of K-562 line. The leukemic transformation of myeloid cells was associated with the increase in the ornithine decarboxylase activity and in the rate of polyamine synthesis, whereas these items were significantly lowered in lymphoid leukemic cells. The changes observed in polyamine metabolism in leukemias are considered to be related to the proliferative and biosynthetic activity of the cells.

[Ornithine decarboxylase activity of human leukocytes]. / Aktivnost' ornitindekarboksilazy v leikotsitakh cheloveka.

Activity of ornithine decarboxylase was studied in human leukocytes exhibiting various proliferative activity. The enzymatic activity might be estimated without obligatory destruction of the cells and fractionation of the cell lysates. In leukocytes of healthy persons the rate of ornithine decarboxylase activity depended on belonging of the cells to myeloid or lymphoid forms: the enzyme activity was higher in lymphocytes as compared with granulocytes. In blast cells of blood of patients with acute leukosis the higher activity of ornithine decarboxylase was found as compared with adult leukocytes although it did not exceed the enzymatic activity in medullar cells of healthy persons. Evaluation of the dynamic alterations in ornithine decarboxylase activity in leukocytes of the patients with leukoses might be used as a test for early determination of the actively proliferated hemopoietic cells.