Ultrastructural characteristics of malignant T cell in T cell lymphoma / 中国实验血液学杂志

ABSTRACT

In order to investigate the ultrastructural features of malignant T cell (MTC) in bona marrow aspirate (BMA) from patients with T Cell Lymphoma, the antigen expression of MTC was analyzed by flow cytometry, and the ultrastructural features of MTC in BMA from 13 T-cell lymphoma patients with bone marrow involvement (BMI) were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that the sizes of MTC were uneven in every patient and their diameter were between 12 and 28 microm, in 6 out of 13 cases sizes of MTC were slightly uneven but in 7/13 cases sizes of MTC were significantly uneven. The heterochromatin of MTC was less than that of normal T cell and nucleolus diameter was from 2 to 8 microm in all cases. The nuclear contour of MTC was strikingly irregular in 10 out of 13 cases. The MTC had plenty of cytoplasm in 8 out of 13 cases and displayed many microvilli or processes on MTC surface in 7 out of 13 cases, while MTC in 6 out of 13 cases contained more Golgi's apparatuses, secretary vacuoles, dense granules and intermediate filaments. In 8 out of 13 cases mitochondria apparently swelled. It is concluded that the size of MTC increase unevenly in all patients. MTC nuclear contour in most cases is irregular by folding, indenting, and twisting, which often correlated with arising of paranuclear intermediate filaments. Processes and microvilli on surface and Golgi's apparatus, secretary vesicles, dense granules as well as intermediate filament in cytoplasm of MTC develop synchronously, meanwhile, mitochondria of MTC strikingly swell in most cases.