The nucleolar functional asynchrony--imbalance--in the granulopoietic proliferating compartment of patients suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia.

Nucleoli were studied in all stages of the granulopoietic proliferating compartment in the bone marrow of patients suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia to provide an information on the incidence of the nucleolar functional asynchrony (imbalance) in these cells. The nucleolar functional asynchrony is morphologically expressed by the presence of "active" large nucleoli with a relatively uniform distribution of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and "resting" ring shaped nucleoli with RNA only in their peripheral part in one and the same cell. This phenomenon was noted in a small but constant percentage of myeloblasts and decreased in myelocytes regardless of the phase of the disease and therapy. In addition, the nucleolar functional asynchrony was also noted in all stages of the granulopoietic proliferating compartment of control not-leukemic persons.