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Review
. 2017;56(14):1759-1769.
doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.56.8881. Epub 2017 Jul 15.

Clinical Features, Pathogenesis, and Treatment of Large Granular Lymphocyte Leukemias

Kazuo Oshimi  1
Affiliations
Review

Clinical Features, Pathogenesis, and Treatment of Large Granular Lymphocyte Leukemias

Kazuo Oshimi. Intern Med. 2017.

Abstract

Large granular lymphocytes (LGLs) are large lymphocytes with azurophilic granules in their cytoplasm. LGLs are either natural killer (NK) cells or T lymphocytes. Expansions of the LGLs in the peripheral blood are seen in various conditions, including three clonal disorders: T-cell LGL (T-LGL) leukemia, chronic lymphoproliferative disorders of NK cells (CLPD-NK), and aggressive NK-cell leukemia (ANKL). However, the monoclonal and polyclonal expansion of LGLs has been associated with many other conditions. The present article describes these LGL disorders, with special emphasis on the clinical features, pathogenesis, and treatments of the three above-mentioned clonal disorders.

Keywords: LGL; T-LGL leukemia; aggressive NK-cell leukemia; chronic lymphoproliferative disorders of NK cells.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
LGLs isolated from a normal individual.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Peripheral blood smears of T-LGL leukemia, CLPD-NK, and ANKL patients. 1: T-LGL lukemia. 2: T-LGL leukemia, small-cell type. 3: CLPD-NK. 4: ANKL (the arrows indicate ANKL cells). T-LGL: T-cell large granular lymphocyte, CLPD-NK: chronic lymphoproliferative disorders of natural killer cells, ANKL: aggressive NK-cell leukemia
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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