Impaired bactericidal but not fungicidal activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

ABSTRACT: We examined the qualitative polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN)-associated immune impairment in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) by characterizing phagocytic killing of key non-opsonized bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and fungal (Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus) pathogens. Neutrophils were collected from 47 non-neutropenic patients with CLL (PMN count > 1000/mm(3)) and age-matched and young healthy controls (five each). A subset of patients (13%) had prior or subsequent infections. We found that the patients with CLL had diminished PMN microbicidal response against bacteria but not against fungi compared with the controls. Compared to patients with effective PMN responses, we did not identify differences of basal PMN pathogen-associat

SUBMITTER: Kontoyiannis DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3858983 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature