Smudge cells


Smudge cells seen most commonly in


[A] ALL
[B] CLL
[C] AML
[D] CML


Zeta-chain-associated protein kinase 70 (ZAP-70) expression is a prognostic marker for


[A] ALL
[B] CLL
[C] AML
[D] CML




Smudge cells


Characteristic disintegrated or crushed white cells in the blood film of CLL patients called smudge cells or basket cells.


Gumprecht’s nuclear shadows


What is a Gumprecht shadow?


Smudge cells seen on peripheral blood smear.

Smudge cells have also been called Gumprecht shadows, named after German scientists and researcher Ferdinand Adolph Gumprecht, who observed these on slides of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).


They were first described in 1896 by Gumprecht as white blood cells with broken-down nuclei (Gumprecht’s nuclear shadows)


Possible Mechanism of Smudge cells formation in peripheral slide blood film


These cells smudge when blood films are made, probably because they are more fragile than normal cells and prone to traumatic disruption during blood film preparation


Zeta-chain-Associated Protein kinase 70 (ZAP-70) expression


One of the standard prognostic markers is the zeta-chain-associated protein kinase 70 (ZAP-70) expression


Percentage of smudge cells [ at presentation of CLL ]


In newly diagnosed CLL patients Percentage of smudge cells [ at presentation of CLL ] could be used as a surrogate marker for ZAP-70 expression and an additional prognostic marker for disease progression


ZAP70 expression assessed by immunohistochemistry is a reliable surrogate marker of the somatic mutation status of the immunoglobulin heavy chain genes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and predicts time to progression.


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