S. Nagakura et al., EXPRESSION OF DECAY-ACCELERATING FACTOR AND CD59 IN LYMPHOCYTE SUBSETS OF HEALTHY-INDIVIDUALS AND PAROXYSMAL-NOCTURNAL HEMOGLOBINURIA PATIENTS, American journal of hematology, 43(1), 1993, pp. 14-18
The expression of phosphatidylinositol (PI)-anchored complement-regula
tory membrane proteins on circulating blood cells has been well clarif
ied; however, the PI proteins on lymphocyte subsets have not been full
y analyzed yet. We examined the expression of decay-accelerating facto
r (DAF) and CD59 on the T lymphocytes (CD2+, CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+) and
CD20+ B lymphocytes in ten healthy volunteers and 12 paroxysmal noctu
rnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) patients by cytofluorometry. In healthy cont
rols, each subset of lymphocytes showed a small population of cells we
akly positive and a large population of cells strongly positive for DA
F and CD59, while erythrocytes showed a single population of cells pos
itive for the PI proteins. The two-population expression of DAF was mo
st distinctive in CD8 T cells among the subsets. In PNH, each subset o
f lymphocytes showed a moderately higher population of cells weakly po
sitive and a smaller population of cells strongly positive for the mem
brane proteins compared with those in the healthy controls. Moreover,
in some PNH cases, a negative population for the proteins was found in
all subsets. Thus the analysis of PI-anchored proteins on lymphocyte
subsets (especially CD8+ T cells) was considered to be of diagnostic v
alue in PNH patients who receive blood transfusion after hemolytic att
ack of affected erythrocytes. Furthermore, the two-population expressi
on of PI proteins in normal lymphocytes suggests that membrane PI prot
ein would be a new subset marker of lymphocytes.