Enzymatic markers in chronic myeloleukemia and their importance for identifying a blast crisis

: The paper summarizes data on the activity of adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase which contribute to purine nucleotide degradation. The enzyme activity was studied in leukocytes of varying degree of differentiation obtained from 29 cases with chronic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), 19 patients with acute phase of the disease and from blasts of 32 cases with CML-associated blast crisis. In CML patients, lymphocytes of leukemic clones showed various levels of activity of the enzymes. Myeloid and lymphoid blast crises proved biochemically heterogeneous. The possibility to establish the nature of blast crisis in CML on the basis of profile of adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase in blasts is discussed.