Increased concentration of circulating acid glycosaminoglycans in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and essential thrombocythaemia.

To verify whether the increase in the number of circulating blood cells that synthesize glycosaminoglycans, B-lymphocytes or platelets, in proliferative disorders, may be associated with changes in the circulation of acid glycosaminoglycans, the serum and plasma concentrations of these polysaccharides have been measured in terms of their sugar components, following isolation and purification by chromatographic methods, in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia or with essential thrombocythaemia and in healthy controls. In the patients, the concentrations of total circulating glycosaminoglycans and of both glucosamine-containing and galactosamine-containing serum glycosaminoglycans were significantly higher than in controls. These concentrations did not significantly correlate with the number of lymphocytes in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and of platelets in patients with essential thrombocythaemia. Analytical data suggest that excess glycosaminoglycans are mainly composed of chondroitin sulphate molecules and contain heparan sulphate structures.