Expression of CD34 and CD59 in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and their clinical significance

Objective To study the bone marrow CD34+ cell ratio and positive expression of CD59 on granulocytes and erythrocytes from peripheral blood in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria(PNH) and to explore their clinical significance.MethodsThe ratio of CD34+ cell in bone marrow mononuclear cells(BMMNC) and expression of CD59 on peripheral granulocytes and erythrocytes in 20 patients with PNH were detected by flow cytometry along with labelled CD34 and CD59 monoclonal antibodies.Results The ratio of CD34+ cell in PNH patients was significantly lower than that in control group(P0.01).There was a significant difference between hypocellular PNH and normo/hypercellular PNH(P0.05),but no difference was found between the two latter groups(P0.05).The positive expression ratio of CD59 on peripheral granulocytes and erythrocytes in control group were all more than 95% and the former had a better stability.The expression of CD59 on both granulocytes and erythrocytes in PNH patients remarkably decreased as compared with that in control group(P0.01).There was a significant difference of the expression of CD59 on peripheral granulocytes among the frequent,occasional and no hemoglobinuria group(P0.05) while there was no significant difference of the expression of CD59 on erythrocytes among the three groups(P0.05).Conclusion The reduction of CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells may be involved in the pathogenesis of PNH.Detection of CD59 on granulocytes and erythrocytes from peripheral blood could be considered as a specific and sensitive method for the diagnosis of PNH.The deficiency of CD59 on granulocytes is related to the severity of disease.