Table 1. Clinical and laboratory characteristics of subjects with monoclonal vs. polyclonal expansions of PB CD56low NK cells vs. normal CD56low NK cells.
| Healthy adults (n = 10) | Cases with expanded/aberrant CD56low NK cells | P-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polyclonal cases (n = 14) | Monoclonal cases (n = 9) | |||
| Age (years)* | 47 ± 24 (27–87) | 55 ± 16 (42–83) | 54 ± 26 (25–81) | NS |
| Reason for consulting: | ||||
| Routine blood analysis | NA | 83% | 80% | NS |
| General symptoms | NA | 17% | 20% | NS |
| Physical examination: | ||||
| Skin lesions | 0% | 0% | 25% | NS |
| Associated autoimmune diseases | 0% | 0% | 13%**§ | NS |
| Laboratory parameters: | ||||
| Leukocytosis (>10 × 109/L) | 0% | 17% | 25% | NS |
| Lymphocytosis (>5 × 109/L) | 0% | 33% | 38% | 0.04a |
| Lymphocytosis (>3 × 109/L) | 0% | 58% | 100% | ≤ 0.05a,b,c,d |
| Neutropenia (<1.5 × 109/L) | 0% | 8% | 13% | NS |
| Anemia (<100g/L) | 0% | 17% | 0% | NS |
| Thrombocytopenia (<100×109/L) | 0% | 25% | 13%§ | NS |
| PB cell counts* | ||||
| Hemoglobin (g/L) | 135 ± 17 (160–97) | 124 ± 26 (88–186) | 139 ± 13 (114–159) | NS |
| N. of platelets (× 109/L) | 233 ± 61 (159–327) | 240 ± 120 (79–476) | 218 ± 86 (83–346) | NS |
| WBC count (× 109/L) | 6.1 ± 3.1 (4.5–8.2) | 7.1 ± 3.4 (3.9–15.5) | 8.7 ± 3.6 (4.2–15.4) | NS |
| N. of neutrophils (× 109/L) | 3.6 ± 0.8 (2.4–4.9) | 2.6 ± 1.6 (0.9–7.4) | 3.2 ± 2.4 (0.3–8.3) | 0.02a |
| N. of lymphocytes (× 109/L) | 1.9 ± 0.7 (0.7–2.8) | 3.8 ± 1.9 (1.6–7) | 4.7 ± 1.3 (3.1–6.6) | ≤ 0.01a,b,c |
| N. of CD56lowNK cells (× 109/L) | 0.25 ± 0.1 (0.1–0.4) | 1.2 ± 0.6 (0.6–2.2) | 2.2 ± 1.2 (0.6–4) | ≤ 0.001a,b,c |
| % of CD56low NK cells* | ||||
| From all PB leucocytes | 4.2 ± 1.3 (2–6) | 20 ± 7 (7–33) | 28 ± 12 (14–43) | ≤ 0.001a,b,c |
| From PB lymphocytes | 13 ± 13 (8–19) | 38 ± 10 (20–50) | 55 ± 11 (38–67) | ≤ 0.003a,b,c,d |
Results expressed as percentage of cases or (*) as mean ± one standard deviation (range).
P-values correspond to the following group comparisons:
a
healthy adults vs. both polyclonal plus monoclonal CD56low NK-cell expansions;
b
healthy adults vs. polyclonal CD56low NK-cell expansions;
c
healthy adults vs. monoclonal CD56low NK-cell expansions;
d
polyclonal vs. monoclonal CD56low NK-cell expansions.
PB: peripheral blood. NA: not applicable. NS: no statistically significant differences found (p > 0.05).PB: peripheral blood. WBC: white blood cells.
None of the cases studied showed lymphadenopathies, hepatosplenomegaly and/or associated neoplasias.
§
One case diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenia.