Soluble Fc gamma RIII is present in lower concentrations in the serum of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) : a retrospective study
Fleit, H.B.; Kobasiuk, C.D.
Leukemia 7(8): 1250-1252
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0887-6924 PMID: 8350625 Document Number: 421264
Fc gamma RIII is a low affinity immunoglobulin G receptor expressed by neutrophils, natural killer cells, and macrophages. Soluble forms of Fc gamma RIII have been identified in serum, plasma, and other body fluids. Previous studies showed that Fc gamma RIII appeared late in myeloid differentiation. This retrospective study was designed to measure the concentration of soluble Fc gamma RIII in serum from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a disease generally characterized by granulocytopenia and an increase in circulating myeloblasts and occasionally promyelocytes. Frozen serum samples from patients with AML and from age-matched normal donors were obtained from the Biological Carcinogenesis Branch Repository of the National Cancer Institute. We used an ELISA to measure the concentration of soluble Fc gamma RIII in these serum samples and observed significantly lower concentrations of soluble Fc gamma RIII in the serum of AML patients. The mean concentration of soluble Fc gamma RIII was 9.5 nM in normals (n = 48) and 5.4 nM in AML patients (n = 46), (p < 0.0005). Whether this difference is due to defects in granulopoiesis in these patients or to other parameters of the disease is unknown at this time. Our retrospective study should provide the basis for subsequent investigation of patients with AML to correlate soluble Fc gamma RIII concentrations with the clinical status of the patients.