Acid Phosphatase and Alpha-naphthyl Acetate Esterase in Neoplastic and Non-neoplastic Lymphocytes: A Statistical Analysis

Abstract

Acid phosphatase and alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase reaction patterns were evaluated in lymphocytes from patients with a variety of neoplastic and non-neoplastic conditions: leukemia, 59; NHL, S3; and reactive follicular hyperplasia, 23. Fifteen individuals with normal peripheral blood were also studied. For both enzymes, statistical analysis showed a strong correlation between a globular reaction pattern and T lymphocytic origin in both non-neoplastic lymph nodes and normal peripheral blood specimens (P < 0.0001). A similarly strong correlation was found between a granular acid phosphatase pattern and T lymphocytic origin in cells isolated from non-neoplastic lymph nodes (P < 0.0001) but not in those obtained from normal peripheral blood where this pattern was observed with equal frequency in B, T, and “null” lymphocytes (P = 0.415). A granular alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase pattern was correlated with non-T lymphocytes from normal peripheral blood (P < 0.0001), but was observed with equal frequency in B, T, and “null” lymphocytes from non-neoplastic lymph nodes (P = 0.76). In the eight T cell neoplasias studied, a globular pattern was evident in the majority of cells for both enzymes. In the majority of the B cell neoplasias, however, a granular pattern was observed for both enzymes.