Expansion of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes is related to acute leukemia

Abstract

Objective: Aim to investigate the proportion of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes and understand the pathogenesis of this monocyte subset in acute leukemia.

Methods: Flow cytometry was utilized to study the phenotype expression of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes and CD3(+) T lymphocytes in peripheral blood derived from patients with acute leukemia. All the data were analyzed by SPSS 13.0 software.

Results: The proportion of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes including both intermediate and non-classical monocytes, increased significantly in patients with acute leukemia and changed negatively or positively according to the disease process. Meanwhile, the proportion of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes was inversely correlated with absolute number of CD4(+) T lymphocytes, ratio of CD4(+)/CD8(+) T cells, and positively correlated with the proportion of neutrophil granulocytes.

Conclusions: The proportion of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes (especially the intermediate subpopulation) is related to the progression of acute leukemia, and the expansion of this monocyte subset could indicate the severity of the disease.

Keywords: Acute leukemia; T lymphocyte; inflammation; monocyte subset.

Figure 1

Gating strategy of the monocyte subsets based on relative expression of CD14 and CD16. A. Shows the traditional gating of CD14⁺CD16⁺ (S1) and CD14⁺CD16^- (S2) monocyte subsets. B. Shows the new gating of non-classical (S1), intermediate (S2) and classical (S3) monocyte subsets.

Figure 2

Representative flow cytometry analysis of monocyte subsets and lymphocyte subsets. Monocytes were assessed using a SSC-Height/CD14-FITC dot plot (A). Monocyte subsets were assessed using a CD16-PE/CD14-FITC dot plot (B). Mature Lymphocytes (CD3⁺ T cells) were assessed using a SSC-Height/CD3-PerCP dot plot (C). Lymphocyte subsets were assessed using a CD8-PE/CD4-FITC dot plot (D).

Figure 3

Flow cytometry analysis of CD14⁺CD16⁺ monocytes (S1) expression in AL patients in period of onset (A), patients in remission (B) and normal controls (C). Data are presented as the mean proportion of CD14⁺CD16⁺ monocytes with standard deviation. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.

Figure 4

Flow cytometry analysis of non-classical monocytes (S1) expression in AL patients in period of onset (A), patients in remission (B) and normal controls (C). Data are presented as the mean proportion of CD14⁺CD16⁺ monocytes with standard deviation. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.

Figure 5

Flow cytometry analysis of intermediate monocytes (S2) expression in AL patients in period of onset (A), patients in remission (B) and normal controls (C). Data are presented as the mean proportion of CD14⁺CD16⁺ monocytes with standard deviation. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.

Figure 6

Correlation between the proportion of CD14⁺CD16⁺ monocytes and absolute number of CD4⁺ T cells (A), the proportion of CD4⁺ T cells (B), the ratio of CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T cells (C), the proportion of total lymphocytes (D), number of neutrophil granulocytes (E) and the proportion of neutrophil granulocytes (F).