Ferritin in Blood Cells from Normal Subjects and Patients with Leukaemia

Abstract

S ummary . Normal human leucocytes contain about 7 fg ferritin protein per cell. In 16 patients with acute myeloblastic leukaemia the mean concentration was 46 fg per cell, in acute myelomonocytic leukaemia 175 fg per cell, and in chronic granulocytic leukaemia 16 fg per cell. It is suggested that the high serum ferritin concentration in leukaemic patients is derived from the leukaemic cells themselves and that it may be due to increased synthesis.