Electrophoretic and cytochemical characterization of alpha-naphthyl acetate
esterases in acute myeloid leukemia: relationships with membrane receptor
and monocyte-specific antigen expression
CS Scott, DC Linch, AG Bynoe, C Allen, N Hogg, MJ Ainley, D Hough and BE Roberts
Alpha-naphthyl acetate esterases (ANAE) were examined by cytochemical and
isoelectric focusing (IEF) techniques in 48 cases of acute myeloid leukemia
that were classified by conventional morphological criteria. Four main
types of ANAE isoenzyme patterns were found by IEF, and comparisons with
the expression of membrane receptors (Fc-IgG and C3b) and monocyte-specific
antigens (UCHM1, UCHALF, and E11) suggest relationships between ANAE
isoenzyme synthesis and distinct myeloid maturational stages. The results
further indicate that the blast cells of acute myelomonocytic leukemia
(AMML) may represent an immature variant of monocytic leukemia (AMoL) and
that morphological examination alone is inadequate in the assessment of
monocytic differentiation in acute myeloid leukemias. Inhibition studies of
cytochemical ANAE activity with sodium fluoride (NaF) show that the
presence of NaF- sensitive or NaF-resistant ANAE enzymes is often unrelated
to the diagnostic category of acute leukemia. The results of this study are
examined in relation to current concepts of myeloid differentiation, and
the application of these findings to the subclassification of acute myeloid
leukemias is discussed.
Volume 63,
Issue 3,
pp. 579-587,
03/01/1984
Copyright © 1984 by The American Society of Hematology
