Expressions of immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin D heavy chain in B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia and their correlation with CD38 expression

Abstract

Background: B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a monoclonal malignancy characterized by an accumulation of small mature-looking B lymphocytes in the blood, bone marrow, and other tissues. It is typically characterized by CD5+, CD23+, CD22−, and CD79b−, with weak expression of surface immunoglobulin (Ig). Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the expression of IgM and IgD heavy chain by flow cytometry in untreated newly diagnosed B-cell CLL and correlate the heavy chain isotopes expression with CD38 expression. Materials And Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on thirty patients with new diagnosis of B-CLL. The study was conducted at nursing home teaching laboratory in medical city hospital in Baghdad for the period from November 2016 to March 2017. Five milliliter of venous blood in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid was collected from thirty patients for detection of expression of IgM, IgD, and CD38 by flow cytometry. The patients were randomly selected regarding the age, sex, and stage of the disease. Results: The mean age of all included patients was (61.73 ± 6.92) with more disease predominant in male than female. The most common presenting feature of the patients was lymphadenopathy found in 16 patients (43%). Regarding staging system, six (20%) patients were in with Binet Stage C and five patients (17%) were in modified Rai Stage 4. CD38 and IgM expression showed a significant relation to hemoglobin and platelets (P Conclusions: The current study showed that the expression of CD38 had a significant correlation with IgM expression as well as there was positive correlation with the stage of the disease which may point out to inferior prognosis for those patients with CLL.