Gaucher's cells

Gaucher's cells have been extensively investigated morphologically and biochemically, and it is now thought that they represent histiocytic cells in which large amounts of glucocerebroside have accumulated because of a deficiency of ,B-glucosidase (Brady, 1972). The histiocytic nature of Gaucher's cells has been inferred from their phagocytic ability (Lee et al., 1967), high lysosomal enzyme content (Rozenszajn and Efrati, 1961), and distinctively reticuloendothelial distribution. However, this view has not been universally accepted (Roos et al., 1961; Fisher and Reidbord, 1962) and, in addition, immunological mechanisms have been invoked in the pathogenesis of the disease (Pennelli et al., 1969). Immunological surface marker studies, which have proved of great value in the characterisation of the pathological cells of a wide variety of other haematological proliferations, should therefore contribute to further understanding of the nature of the pathognomonic cells of Gaucher's disease. No previous surface-marker study of Gaucher's disease has been described, and in the present paper we report such a study in a case of the non-neuronopathic form of the disease.