The relationship between lymphocyte nuclear morphology and cell cycle stage in lymphoid neoplasia

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Abstract
A significant percentage of lymphoid cells isolated from three lymphoid neoplasms (nodular lymphoma mixed cell type, mycosis fungoides, and Sézary syndrome) had tetraploid or near‐tetraploid DNA content, as determined by flow cytometric analysis. In each case, a morphologically distinct population of cells with large, irregular nuclei was present, the percentage of which corresponded to the percentage of tetraploid cells. In a fourth case (diffuse “histiocytic” lymphoma), cells were sorted on the basis of DNA content from the G0‐G1 compartment and compared morphologically to cells sorted from the S‐G2(M) compartment. The G0‐G1 cells had clumped nuclear chromatin, lacked prominent nucleoli, and had a mean nuclear diameter of 10.18 ± 1.22 μm. The sorted cells with S‐G2(M) DNA content had one to several prominent nucleoli and less clumped nuclear chromatin, and they were significantly larger, with a mean nuclear diameter of 13.76 ± 1.59 μm (P < 0.00001). These preliminary results suggest that, in lymphoid malignancies, certain morphologic characteristics of individual lymphoid cells are related to their DNA content (level of ploidy) and/or the stage of the cell within its division cycle.