Some ultrastructural aspect of T and B lymphocytes and their significance in chronic internal diseases with immune component.

Some peculiar aspects of T and B lymphocytes from patients with chronic internal diseases with immune component such as: chronic hepatitis (CH), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), diabetes mellitus (DM), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and others, could be detected using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in association with cytomorphologic, cytoenzymochemical and/or cytoimmunologic methods. Among the more frequent aspects observed were the change of the T and B lymphocyte balance and the presence of giant nucleoli associated with RNA hyposynthesis. This latter aspect was proved to be a sign of unfavourable prognosis and of resistance to immunosuppressive treatments in diseases such as: RA, SLE and CLL.