The Periodic Acid-Schiff Reaction in Neutrophil Leukocytes in Untreated and Myleran-Treated Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia

Abstract

Microspectrophotometric quantification of the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reaction has been performed in about 3,000 individual mature neutrophil leukocytes from 20 normal subjects and 23 patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), of whom 10 were untreated or in relapse and 13 in partial remission or remission. The PAS reaction was taken as a quantitative measure of the cellular amount of PAS reactive material (PASMa), most probably equivalent to glycogen. The mean amount of PASMa in neutrophils from untreated and relapse cases of CML was 43 per cent less than in normal neutrophils. The frequency distribution of PASMa per cell was normal in individual cases. In clinical remission after Myleran treatment, the neutrophils contained normal amounts of PASMa.