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The comparative study of the protein markers of the membrane surface of the autologous hematopoietic stem cells (.D34+.D45+) was performed to detect the patterns of the proteomic profiles, if any. The study included five groups. The subpopulations of the hematopoietic stem cells were studied in 569 samples of the mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cells from adult cancer cases (group 1), 557 samples from children cancer cases (group 2), 66 samples from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases (group 3), 5 samples from other neurodegenerative diseases cases (supplementary group 4) and 61 samples isolated from healthy donors (control group 5). The protein markers of the membrane surface of the autologous hematopoietic stem cells were mapped and profiled with flow cytometry. The specific patterns of the proteomic profiles characteristic for cancer and neurodegenerative disease and different from those of healthy donors were identified. The authors suppose that as far as the HSC is the parent cell of the immune system cells, the modification of its proteomic profile speaks of specific immune insufficiency that not only accompanies the disease but presents the key cause for its onset and precedes its clinical manifestation. Thus, the evaluation of the protein markers of the membrane surface of hematopoietic stem cells can be used for ultra early diagnosis of these diseases.

Introduction. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease. It is a fatal neurodegenerative disease the cause of which is not clear. The effective therapy is absent. ALS is diagnosed through clinical examination and neurophysiologic tests. Clinically, the symptoms manifest when about 80% of motor neurons are dead. Materials and methods. The hematopoietic stem cells are isolated through administration of the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor from three groups: group 1 of 62 ALS cases, group 2 of 54 ALS-free healthy donors and group 3 of 6 ALS-free ALS-family members. The expression of HLA-DR, CD38, CD117, CD13, CD33, CD56, Thy-1, CD45, CD10, CD71 was assessed in 86 samples of HSCs in ALS group, 61 samples of HSCs in healthy group and 6 samples from ALS-free ALS-family members by the multiparameter flow cytometry. Results. The obtained immunophenotypic profiles of HSCs membrane antigens of the ALS group significantly differ from the ALS-free group, while the immunophenotypic profiles of HSCs membrane antigens of the ALS-family members group are close to the ALS group. Discussion. We suppose that the ALS onset as the disease of HSCs and manifests in the genome and proteome of the HSCs. Such immunophenotypic profiling might permit identification of ALS-specific immune insufficiency and become a tool for early diagnostics of the ALS before clinical manifestation of the disease. New options of the updated therapy of ALS might be developed or corrected considering this new evidence. Conclusion. Further research with larger samples and deeper examination is required.