A comparative study of the inhibitory effect of trypan blue on mouse erythrocyte and C3 binding receptors of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors and patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Trypan blue has previously been shown to interact with the C3 receptor, but not with the Fc receptor. In the present work the effects of Trypan blue on mouse erythrocyte (ME) and C3 binding receptors of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells have been studied in healthy individuals and in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The resulting dose-response curves have been compared with each another. The results of statistical analysis indicate that there is no significant difference between the effects of trypan blue on the two receptors in healthy individuals. In contrast ME and C3 binding receptors differ significantly in trypan blue sensitivity in CLL patients. These data suggest that the two receptors are similar, or are situated on the cell membrane in such a way that the trypan blue bound to one of them inhibits the functioning of the other one too, but they are not the same. In the course of leukemic transformation, the trypan blue sensitivity of the ME binding receptor does not vary, whereas that of the C3 receptor is enhanced significantly.