Lymphoblast is an immature white blood cell giving rise to the type of immune cell called a Lymphocyte. These are usually found in the red bone marrow and are medium-sized to relatively large cells, giving rise to the lymphocytes. Similar to the progenitor cells, this immature cell doesn’t perform any specific function in the body. These Lymphoblast cells are produced along with the lymphoid stem cell lineage and normally develop through a series of different events producing healthy lymphocytes to fight infections. However, in some situations, these cells fail to mature, affecting the normal production of other vital cells for the body.
Difference between Lymphoblast and Lymphocyte
Although lymphoblast gives rise to lymphocytes, there is a difference between the two. It is vital to have a complete idea about the differences between the two. Some levels of differentiation are-
Lymphoblast cells are progenitors undergoing the differentiation to produce cells giving rise to Lymphocytes.
Lymphoblasts are classified as unipotent progenitors and can only give rise to one cell type differentiation further entirely depending on given molecules. For example, unlike lymphoblast, some parts of lymphocytes start migrating to the thymus and develop to become T Cells, while the one that remains in the bone marrow mature ends up becoming B Cells.
Location
In the body of a healthy individual, lymphoblast is mainly found in the red bone marrow. When they end up stimulated by some factors, they increase, producing lymphocyte precursors.
On the other hand, lymphocytes are produced by some progenitors that reside in the bone marrow and are not restricted to this particular area of the body but migrate to different parts of the body, including the blood, spleen, and thymus. The primary function of the lymphoblast is to differentiate and give rise to the lymphocyte precursors. It is the reason why they do not leave the bone marrow. Instead, differentiated lymphocytes can readily mature, helping to produce specialized cells. This is why lymphoblast cells are located in specific parts of the body to perform certain functions.
Morphology
In many cases, lymphoblast and lymphocytes are differentiated based on morphology and structure. You need to note that lymphoblast is shown to exhibit variable morphology. While some appear to be more significant with fine nuclear chromatin, others with condensed chromatin. Similar to Lymphoblast cells, lymphocytes are characterized by a large nucleus having little cytoplasm. Even though it has little cytoplasm, lymphocytes carry important organelles, which are similar to eukaryotic cells, including the Endoplasmic Reticulum, mitochondria, Golgi Body, and others.
Precursors
Another significant difference between the two is precursors. Although both these cells occur from similar lineage, they carry different precursors. Lymphoblast gets produced using other lymphoid stem cells under the influence of IL-5, IL-3, and AG-CSF. Lymphocytes developed following the differentiation in the prolymphocytes originating from lymphoblast.
Health Issues
There are many cases where the person faces health issues due to abnormality in lymphoblast cells. One such is acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). It is a type of blood cancer that also happens on bone marrow- the spongy tissue located inside the bone where blood cells are created. This leukemia is the most common type of cancer seen among children. Thankfully, there are treatments available to treat children and get out of it. However, there are some instances among adults, but the chances of getting cured are quite low.
Symptoms of All:
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Gum Bleeding
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Bone pain
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Infection
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Frequent nosebleeds
Causes of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
There are multiple reasons behind this disease, one of the common reasons is when the bone marrow cells start mutating in DNA. In typical cases, DNA tells the individual cell to keep growing faster and die at the set timing. In this case, the blood cell production goes out of control, resulting in immature cells, which develop white blood cells called Lymphoblast.
Diagnosis for This Disease
Different tests and procedures are helping to diagnose acute lymphocytic leukemia. These include-
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Blood Tests – It will help to get a clear picture of blood tests revealing few white blood cells but not enough blood cells. With blood tests, you will also get to know about immature cells.
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Bone Marrow Test – During this process of aspiration and biopsy, the needle is used to remove the bone marrow sample, which is then sent to the lab for testing purposes.
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Imaging Tests – These tests include a computerized tomography scan or the ultrasound scan will help to determine whether the cancer is spreading to the brain or any other area.
Lymphoblast Vs. Myeloblast
There is a structural difference between the two. Myeloblasts are called Band Cells. Moreover, the nucleus of the Myeloblast has a curvy shape. It appears in S, C, or V. In lymphoblast, the nucleus is large and carries thick chromatin pigments, making them prominent.
On the other hand, Lymphoblast has the size of 15 um diameter compared to the 20 UM of the Myeloblast.
In general, Myeloblast happens to undergo granulopoiesis developing into granulocytes. Different stages consist of promyelocyte to myelocyte and others. Lymphoblast, on the other hand, undergoes lymphopoiesis where they mature to T lymphocytes.