O h r c i r g a i n e a s l e R Meral Dondurmacı 1 , Ebru Canda 2 , Melis Köse 3 , Sema Kalkan Uçar 2 , Mahmut Çoker 2 , Ferhan Sağın 1 , Eser Y. Sözmen 1 1 Department of Medical Biochemistry, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, 2 Department of Inherited Metabolic Disease, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, 3 Department of Inherited Metabolic Disease, Behçet Uz Children’s Hospital, İzmir, Turkey Higher levels of CD19 + leukocytes in Gaucher disease Higher levels of CD19 + leukocytes in Gaucher disease patients as a potential marker for malignancy DOI: 10.4328/JCAM.5418 Received: 11.10.2017 Accepted: 12.11.2017 Published Online: 12.11.2017 Printed: 01.01.2018 J Clin Anal Med 2018;9(1): 56-60 Corresponding Author: Eser Y. Sozmen, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Bornova, İzmir, 35100 Turkey. T.: +90 2323904098 F.: +90 2323904030 E-Mail: eser.sozmen@ege.edu.tr; esersoz@yahoo.com Abstract Aim: Gaucher disease is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease caused by insufcient glucocerebrosidase activity resulting in accumulation of glu- cosylceramide, particularly in macrophages. Multiple myeloma and B cell lymphoma are considered to be one of the causes of death from GD in the long term. We aimed to compare cell surface antigens of leukocytes to try to identify a reliable marker for leukocyte infltration and progression to lymphoid malignancy. Material ve Method: 10 Gaucher disease patients and 20 age-matched healthy controls were included. Leukocytes were collected from whole blood using a Ficoll gradient, stained for specifc cell surface antigens (CD33, CD19, CD14, and CD8) and sorted by fow cytometry. Levels of each leukocyte cell surface antigen were expressed as a percentage of leukocytes expressing them. Leukocyte glucocerebrosidase activity was measured by fuorometry. Results: The percentage of CD19+ leukocytes in Gaucher disease patients (8.2 ± 3.4) was signifcantly higher than in the control group (4.8 ± 3.4) (p<0.05). The percentage of leukocytes expressing CD33 (12.8 ± 6.6 vs 7.9 ± 8.0, p=0.077), CD14 (10.6 ± 4.6 vs 7.1 ± 6.9, p=0.094) or CD8 (12.7 ± 5.3 vs 9.8 ± 5.9, p=0.115) was not signifcantly higher in patients than in controls. Discussion: The higher levels of CD19+ leukocytes may serve as a useful marker to predict leukocyte infltration and perhaps also malignancy in Gaucher disease patients. Experimental anti-CD19 drugs are in development for the treatment of B cell cancers, and CD19+ leukocyte levels may also serve as a marker of the response to this treatment. Keywords Gaucher Disease; Leucocyte Cell Surface Antigens; CD19+; Multiple Myeloma; Leucocyte Infltration; Flow Cytometry | Journal of Clinical and Analytical Medicine 56