DEPRESSION OF THE ANTIGEN-A AND ANTIGEN-H IN A PATIENT WITH ACUTE-LEUKEMIA

Background: In the case of a 39-year-old woman, who suffered from acut e myeloic leukemia and was treated for the first time, the examination of the ABO blood group showed a discrepancy between the ABO antigens on her red blood cells (RBCs) (no reaction with anti-A, anti-B and ant i-AB reagents) and the isoagglutinins in her serum (no reaction with A l, Az and O RBCs, but strong reaction with B RBCs). Materials and Meth ods: 5 monoclonal and 5 polyclonal anti-A, anti-B and anti-AB reagents of different manufacturers were used for the determination of the pat ient's ABO blood group (tube-spin method,5 min incubation at room temp erature). Results: No polyclonal and only 1 monoclonal anti-A, 3 polyc lonal and 2 monoclonal anti-AB reagents were able to detect the A anti gen. Furthermore the H antigen was not detectable with monoclonal and with lectin reagents. Seven months later (after chemotherapy in the me antime) the A and H antigens were found on her RBCs with strong reacti ons. Conclusion: Even if there are excellent monoclonal and polyclonal reagents for the examination of the ABO antigens on the RBCs, for the determination of the ABO blood group the complementary reactions of t he isoagglutinins must be carefully observed (except for newborns and children younger than 1 year).