LEUKOCYTES

leukocyte lineage

• Leukocytes (or white blood cells) are involved in immune response against infection and malignancy and in cellular repair after injury.
• Leukocytes derive from two major blood cell lineages: myeloid and lymphoid (shown below):
   Myeloid: granulocytes (neutrophil, eosinophils, basophils, and mast cells), monocytes (macrophages), and dendritic cells (DCs)
   Lymphoid: produces B, T lymphocytes, natural killer cells, and DCs
• The first screening test for wbc disorders include total leukocyte count (part of CBC) and absolute count and percentage (per total wbc) of each mature cell lineage, in addition to immature cells (blasts).
• Additional diagnostic tests include peripheral smear, bone marrow study, flow cytometry, and molecular test, among others.

wbc types

neutrophils
eosinophils
basophils
mast cells
lymphocytes
monocytes
histiocytes

leukopenia - leukocytosis


• Leukopenia (low wbc count) often results from neutropenia or, less commonly, lymphocytopenia, monocytopenia, eosinopenia, or pancytopenia.
• Leukocytosis (high wbc count) often results from neutrophilia or, less commonly, eosinophilia, monocytosis, lymphocytosis, or pancytosis.
• Below is a summary of possible causes for each of these lab abnormalities (for more detailed lists, click on each linked item above).

LEUKOPENIA

✿ Neutropenia
  ✧ Impaired production
    ☼ familial (benign) neutropenia
    ☼ benign ethnic neutropenia
    ☼ chronic idiopathic neutropenia
    ☼ congenital neutropenias
    ☼ nutritrional deficiencies (folate, b12, copper)
    ☼ hematologic disorders (pnh, large granular lymphocyte leukemia
    ☼ immunodeficiencies (x-linked hyper-IgM, agammaglobulinemia, cvid, scid)
    ☼ immunosuppressants
  ✧ Autoimmune disorders
    ☼ autoimmune neutropenia
    ☼ systemic lupus erythematosus (sle)
    ☼ rheumatoid arthritis / felty
    ☼ sjogren syndrome
  ✧ Infection
    ☼ viral (ebv, cmv, hhv-6, hepatitis, hiv, measles, rubella, dengue fever, colorado tick fever)
    ☼ bacterial (bartonella, shigella, tularemia)
    ☼ rickettsial (ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis)
  ✧ Drugs
    ☼ antithyroids (carbimazole, methimazole, ppu)
    ☼ psychotropics (phenothiazines, clopazine)
    ☼ cardiovascular (ticlopidine, procainamide)
    ☼ nsaids (indomethacin)
    ☼ antibiotics (penicillin, sulfonamide, dapsone)
    ☼ gi (sulfasalazine, h2 blockers)
    ☼ antimalarials (quinine)
    ☼ iron chelators (deferipone)
    ☼ cocaine, heroine (laced w/ levamisole)
  ✧ Redistribution (margination)
    ☼ primary splenic neutropenia
    ☼ hypersplenism
  ✧ Direct cell damage
    ☼ hemodialysis

✿ Lymphocytopenia
  ✧ Idiopathic cd4+ T lymphocytopenia
  ✧ Congenital immunodeficiencies
    ☼ scid
    ☼ common variable immune deficiency
    ☼ wiskott-aldrich syndrome
    ☼ ataxia-telangiectasia
    ☼ good syndrome
    ☼ hepatic venoocclusive disease with immunodeficiency
    ☼ cartilage hair hypoplasia syndrome
  ✧ Infection
    ☼ viral (hiv, sars, west nile encephalitis, hepatitis, influenza, herpesvirus, measles)
    ☼ bacterial (tb, typhoid, brucella)
    ☼ rickettsial (ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis)
    ☼ parasitic (acute malaria)
    ☼ fungal (histoplasmosis)
  ✧ Immune-mediated processes
    ☼ systemic vasculitis
    ☼ connective tissue disorders (sle, ra, sjogren)
    ☼ granuloma (sarcoidosis, wegener)
    ☼ msk (myasthenia gravis, dermatomyositis)
    ☼ gi (celiac disease, severe acute pancreatitis)
    ☼ drug/toxin (stevens-johnson, silicosis)
  ✧ Nutritional deficiencies
    ☼ zinc deficiency
    ☼ alcohol abuse
  ✧ Drugs
    ☼ immunosuppressants
    ☼ chemotherapy
  ✧ Direct cell damage
    ☼ advanced cancer (lymphoma, carcinoma)
    ☼ radiotherapy
    ☼ hemodialysis
  ✧ Removal from the body
    ☼ thoracic duct leak or drainage
    ☼ stem cell or platelet apheresis
    ☼ protein-losing enteropathy
  ✧ Redistribution to tissues
    ☼ thermal injury
    ☼ s/p surgery

✿ Monocytopenia
  ✧ MonoMAC syndrome or Emberger syndrome
  ✧ Hematologic disorders
    ☼ pancytopenia/aplastic anemia
    ☼ hairy cell leukemia
    ☼ chronic lymphocytic leukemia
  ✧ Drugs
    ☼ glucocorticoids
    ☼ cytokines (tnf-α, ifn-α)
  ✧ Direct cell injury
    ☼ severe thermal injury
    ☼ radiotherapy
    ☼ hemodialysis

✿ Eosinopenia
  ✧ Acute bacterial or viral infection
  ✧ Glucocorticoids
  ✧ Eosinophil peroxidase deficiency

✿ Pancytopenia
  ✧ Marrow failure
    ☼ congenital (fanconi, dyskeratosis congenita)
    ☼ hematologic (wiskott aldrich syndrome, shwachman-diamond syndrome, amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia, gata2 deficiency, pnh, hlh)
    ☼ autoimmune disorders (sle, ra)
    ☼ infection (parvovirus b19, ebv, cmv, hiv, hcv)
    ☼ drugs (chemo, sulfonamide, nsaids, antithyroids, anticonsulvants, gold, arsenic)
    ☼ toxin (benzene, organophosphate)
    ☼ radiation
    ☼ necrosis (sickle cell, sepsis, arsenic, mets)
  ✧ Marrow infiltration
    ☼ malignancy (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, macroglobulinemia, metastatic disease)
    ☼ granuloma (sarcoidosis, tb, fungus)
    ☼ fibrosis (myelofibrosis, hiv)
    ☼ lipid deposition (gaucher, niemann-pick)
    ☼ oxalosis
  ✧ Ineffective hematopoeisis
    ☼ myelodysplastic syndrome (mds)
    ☼ nutritional deficiencies (malnutrition, etoh abuse, folate, b12, copper deficiencies)
  ✧ Splenic sequestration (hypersplenism)
    ☼ malignancy (lymphoma, leukemia, mets)
    ☼ autoimmune (sarcoidosis, felty, sle)
    ☼ infection (mononucleosis, hepatitis, tb, brucella, malaria, kala-azar, histoplasmosis)
    ☼ storage (gaucher, niemann-pick)
    ☼ cirrhosis
    ☼ hemolysis
  ✧ Destruction
    ☼ microangiopathy (dic, ttp/hus, vasculitis)
LEUKOCYTOSIS

✿ Neutrophilia
  ✧ Increased production
    ☼ neutrophillic leukemia
    ☼ idiopathic neutrophillic leukocytosis
    ☼ chronic hereditary neutrophillia
    ☼ leukocytic adhesion deficiency
    ☼ myeloproliferative disorders (pv, et)
    ☼ metastatic cancer
    ☼ drugs (g-csf, gm-csf, retinoic acid)
  ✧ Increased release from marrow
    ☼ infection (bacterial, miliary tb)
    ☼ autoimmune (vasculitis, rheumatoid, kawasaki, ibd, gout, dermatitis, sweet syndrome)
    ☼ ischemia (mi, pe)
    ☼ cell injury (sickle cell crisis, chronic hemolysis, pancreatitis, burns, smoking)
    ☼ endocrine (thyroid storm, hypercortisolism)
    ☼ pregnancy (eclampsia, post partum)
    ☼ rebound from agranulocytosis s/p tx
    ☼ drugs (lithium, glucocorticoids)
  ✧ Redistribution (demargination)
    ☼ hyposplenism or asplenia
    ☼ acute physical or emotional stress
    ☼ catecholamines (epinephrine)

✿ Lymphocytosis
  ✧ Neoplasm
    ☼ leukemias (lymphocytic, prolymphocytic, lymphoblastic, hairy cell leukemia, adult t-cell leukemia, large granular lymphocyte)
    ☼ lymphocytosis (monoclonal b-cell, persistent polyclonal b-cell, natural killer cell)
    ☼ lymphoma (non-hodgkin, mantle cell, follicular, splenic marginal zone)
    ☼ thymoma
  ✧ Infection
    ☼ viral, bacteria, parasitic
  ✧ Inflammation
    ☼ drug hypersensitivity / dress
    ☼ malignancy
    ☼ chronic infection
    ☼ smoking
  ✧ Redistribution
    ☼ hyposplenism or asplenia
    ☼ acute physical stress

✿ Monocytosis
  ✧ Neoplasm
    ☼ monocytic leukemias
    ☼ myelomonocytic leukemias
    ☼ lymphoproliferative disorders (leukemias)
    ☼ solid tumors (colon ca mets, sarcoma)
  ✧ Hematologic disorders
    ☼ chronic idiopathic monocytosis
    ☼ neutropenia
    ☼ immune hemolytic anemia
    ☼ idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura
    ☼ post agranulocytic recovery
    ☼ post splenectomy
    ☼ pseudolymphoma syndrome
  ✧ Infection
    ☼ chronic bacterial (tb, subacute endocarditis, resolution of infection, syphillis, brucellosis)
    ☼ viral (cmv, varicella-zoster, influenza)
  ✧ Inflammation
    ☼ connective tissue disorders (sle, ra)
    ☼ vasculitis (pan, gca, kawasaki)
    ☼ sarcoidosis
    ☼ gi (ibd, celiac, alcoholic liver)
    ☼ heart (mi, post cabg)
  ✧ Other
    ☼ wiskott-aldrich syndrome
    ☼ depression/ anxiety
    ☼ arathon running
    ☼ growth factors (gm-csf, g-csf, m-csf)

✿ Eosinophilia
  ✧ Neoplasm
    ☼ primary hypereosonophilic syndromes
    ☼ eosinophilic leukemia
    ☼ myeloproliferative disorders
    ☼ systemic mastocytosis
    ☼ lymphomas
    ☼ carcinomas
  ✧ Infection
    ☼ parasitic (helminths, scabies, protozoas)
    ☼ fungal (aspergillosis, coccidio, histoplasmo)
    ☼ viral (hiv, htlv)
  ✧ Allergy / Autoimmune / Inflammation
    ☼ drug hypersensitivity / dress
    ☼ connective tissue disorders (sle, ra)
    ☼ vasculitis (churg-strauss, wegener)
    ☼ skin (dermatomyositis, atopic dermatitis)
    ☼ upper respiratory (allergic rhinitis)
    ☼ lung (asthma, eosinophilic pneumonia)
    ☼ gi (eosinophilic esophagitis, gastroenteritis)     ☼ heart (hypersensitivity myocarditis)
    ☼ renal (interstitial nephritis, cystitis)
    ☼ cns (eosinophilic meningitis)
  ✧ Other
    ☼ hyper-IgE syndrome
    ☼ transplant rejection
    ☼ adrenal insufficiency
    ☼ cholesterol embolization
    ☼ chemical reaction
    ☼ idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome

✿ Basophilia
  ✧ Neoplasm
    ☼ basophilic leukemia
    ☼ myeloproliferative diseases
    ☼ carcinomas
  ✧ Infection
    ☼ viral (influenza, chickenpox, smallpox)
    ☼ mycobacterial (tuberculosis)
  ✧ Inflammation
    ☼ igE-mediated hypersensitivity
    ☼ juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
    ☼ ulcerative colitis
  ✧ Endocrinopathy
    ☼ hypothyroidism
    ☼ diabetes mellitus
    ☼ estrogen therapy
  ✧ Other
    ☼ iron deficiency
    ☼ radiation

related topics




erythrocytes
platelets
immunology
LAB HOME PAGE
hematology
coagulation
chemistry