Quantitative evaluation of leukemic mitochondria with a computer-controlled image analyzer.

Mitochondria from 25 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 25 patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) were compared in terms of their number, area, and shape index using a computer-controlled image analyzer. The number of mitochondria was greater in the AML than in the ALL patients. However, their size, as measured in electron micrographic profiles was similar in the two groups, in disagreement with conventional reports that mitochondria are small in granulocytes but large in lymphocytes. Two ALL patients had giant mitochondria. The mitochondria of the ALL cells were more irregular than those of the AML cells, and furthermore, within the ALL group, the degree of the irregularity was greater in those with a poor prognosis than in those in longstanding remission. The number of mitochondria was significantly greater in B-cell ALL than in null cell and T-cell ALL.