Pseudoviral Inclusion Bodies in Acute Leukemia. A Report of Two Cases

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Abstract
Cytoplasmic inclusions in leukemic cells of the bone marrow and peripheral blood are described in one patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia and in one patient with blastic crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia. The inclusions were 1–7 μ in diameter and visible in routinely stained preparations. On electron microscopy, they consisted of subunits, 500–700 A in diameter, which resembled incomplete virus particles. Histochemical studies suggested that the particles contained acid phosphatase and acid mucopolysaccharide, but no DNA or RNA. The presence of structurally and histochemically similar particles in many other benign and malignant mammalian cells militates against their viral nature and etiologic role, although they have not been described in normal marrow cells to date.