Adenosine deaminase activity of normal lymphocytes and leukemic cells
Ben-Bassat, I.; Simoni, F.; Holtzman, F.; Ramot, B.
Israel Journal of Medical Sciences 15(11): 925-927
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-2180 PMID: 118945 Document Number: 144467
Adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity was determined in peripheral blood T [thymus-derived] cells, thymocytes and blasts of 42 acute leukemia patients. Thymocytes had higher ADA activity than mature peripheral blood T cells. B [bone marrow-derived] ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) cells had significantly lower activity compared with T ALL and non-B, non-T cells. The latter had a wide range of enzymatic activities but mostly in the T cell range. Based on these results and on assays of B and T cell lines, thymus-derived cells- and especially prethymic and immature T cells- apparently have high ADA activity. This finding could be useful in subtyping the heterogeneous group of non-B, non-T ALL.