CEROID PIGMENT DEPOSITION IN CIRCULATING BLOOD MONOCYTES AND T-LYMPHOCYTES IN HERMANSKY-PUDLAK SYNDROME - AN ULTRASTRUCTURAL-STUDY

An electron microscopic study of peripheral leukocytes obtained from a 39 year old woman with Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome was performed. Ceroid pigment granules were found within the lysosomes in 3.5% of monocytes and 5.4% of lymphocytes. Infrequently, pigment granules were also found in the parallel tubular arrays of lymphocytes. The lymphocytes containing ceroid pigment granules were confirmed to be T cells by immunoelectron microscopy. It was speculated that intralysosomal accumulation of ceroid pigment granules in Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome may be due to lysosomal dysfunction.