All issues > Volume 32(12); 1989

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1989;32(12):1715-1725. Published online December 31, 1989.

Serum Ribounclease Activity in Patients with Leukemia and Chromatographic Isolation of the Enzyme.

Young Suk Koh¹, Keun Lee¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea

Received: September 11, 1989;  Accepted: September 11, 1989.

Abstract

In order to find out the possibility for using serum ribonuclease (RNase) activity as diagnostic and therapeutic markers for leukemia, serum neutral, acid and alkaline RNase activities were determined in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) before and after anticancer therapy and in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Also, serum RNases (neutral, acid and alkaline (RNase)and proteins were analyzed by column chromatogra-phy to investigate whether RNases and proteins specific to ALL and AML were present. 1) Serum neutral, acid and alkaline RNase activities were significantly increased by 39%, 47% and 68% respective-ly for ALL and by 55%, 78% and 100% respectively for AML when compared to normal control. 2) The positive rates of serum neutral, acid and alkaline RNase activities as markers for leukemia were observed to be 58%, 46% and 67% respectively for ALL and 65%, 71% and 76% respectively for AML. 3) Following the anticancer therapy in ALL for 6 months, serum neutral RNase activity returned toward the normal level, decreasing by 21 〜 42 % of the original activity. 4) DEAE-cellulose column chromatographic analyses revealed that two peak proteins present in normal control serum disappeared in ALL and three peak proteins disappeared in AML and that a single peak protein was isolated to be specitic to ALL. 5) Chromatographic patterns for isolating serum neutral, acid and alkaline RNase of ALL and AML appeared to be different from those for normal control but RNase peaks specific to leukemia could not be observed. The results suggested that serum RNase activity might be used for diagnostic and therapeutic markers for leukemia, amphasizing that, of the serum RNases studied, alkaline RNase activity for AML was most useful for the markers of leukemia. The results also indicated that proteins present in normal control serum disappeared and proteins specific to ALL appeared in the leukemic serum, but no RNase specific to leukemia could be found.

Keywords :Serum ribonuclease, leukemia