Ferritins in malignant and non‐malignant lymphoid cells

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Abstract
Lymphoid cells from peripheral blood, thymus, malignant and non-malignant lymph nodes were analysed for ferritin content using radioimmunoassays specific for the ''acidic'' H-subunit-rich and for ''basic'' L-subunit-rich isoferritins, and the data were compared with the immunological characteristics of the cells. All tissues with high proportion of T or ''null'' cells contained the lowest concentration of L-subunit-rich isoferritins, while the the H-subunit-rich forms increased from low levels in the quiescent peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), to higher values in the immature and proliferating thymocytes and lymphoblasts, malignant or not. B-cell lymphomas contained concentrations of both ferritin types higher than those found in PBL. No significant difference was found in the isoferritin concentrations between non-malignant lymph nodes and tissues involved in Hodgkin''s disease. These findings indicate that maturation stage, proliferative status and anatomical localization affect isoferritin expression in lymphoid cells.