Abstract
In a 24-year-old woman with hepatosplenomegaly and anemia, Gaucher's disease was indicated in aspiration cytology of the bone marrow and diagnosed by β-glucosidase activity in lymphocytes.
On examination of Giemsa-stained and/or Papanicolaou-stained smears, Gaucher's cells were large, and were round or polyhedric shape.
PAS reaction and acid phosphatase reaction were stronger positive in smaller cells than in larger cells. Sudan III stain was negative.
Ultrastructurally, the most characteristic appearance was tubular structures within a single membrane. These tubular structures were straight or serpiginous, 200 to 500 Angstroms in diameter. Lysosomes and autophagosomes were found, although quantity varied greatly from one cell to another. Erythrocytes were often and granulocytes rarely seen in the cytoplasm of Gaucher's cells.
It had been shown that Gaucher's cells carried receptors for C3 and Fc. The presence of Ia-like antigens on their cells were also indicated.
These cytological, cytochemical, ultrastructural, and immunological results showed that Gaucher's cells might be macrophages.
