Since the Fleming's observation of bacteriolytic element in nasal mucus in 1922,
lysozyme has been found to be present in various biologic fluids such as serum, urine,
tear, colostrum etc. It is known to be a hydrolytic enzyme acting specifically on the
structural unit of cell wall of various bacteria. In the formed elements of blood,
lysozyme activity has teen identified in monocytes, monoblasts and mature neutrophils
and their precursors as far back as progranulocytes. Increased concentrations of
lysozyme were reported in the serum and urine of patients suffering from monocytic and
myelomonocytic leukemias. The activities of lysozyme are normal or decreased in
lymphocytic leukemia. Attempts have been made to correlate the serum lysozyme value
with diagnostic and prognostic indices of acute leukemia. However, there has been no
report on the serum lysozyme study in korea. The author measured serum lysozyme
level by means of turbidimetric assay on 48 specimens from 42 patients with leukemia
and 30 from normal subjects. The following results were obtained.
1) In normal subjects, the mean value of lysozyme was 7.46 ㎍/㎖ and the range was
3.25∼11.25 ㎍/㎖.
2) The highest mean serum lysozyme level was found in AMMoL patients(22. 17 ㎍/
㎖). Increased level was also observed in AMoL group (16.31 ㎍/㎖).
3) There was some correlation between serum lysozyme level and leukocyte count but
it was not significant statistically(r=0.24).
4) The mean of the ratio of serum lysozyme/WBC count per μl×10-3
was above 4 in AMoL. The mean of the ratio in other types of leukemia was
significantly different(P<0.005).
5) When lymphadenopathy accompanied by gum hypertrophy was present in AMMoL
and AMoL, an increased serum lysozyme value was also observed.
6) When initial serum lysozyme level was high, the remission rate was low in AMMoL
and AMoL. From the above results, it is concluded that the measurement of serum
lysozyme value is an additional guide for the diagnosis and prognosis of acute leukemia.
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