Analysis of cell surface antigen on neoplastic lymphocytes by the use of anti-human brain serum.

Cell surface antigens on neoplastic lymphoid cells of T cell lineage were analyzed with a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS-II) by utilizing rabbit antisera raised against human brain tissue (anti-Br) and fetal thymocytes (anti-Ty). Both before and after extensive absorption with normal peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), the anti-Br antiserum was capable of staining neoplastic lymphoid cells from patients with Sézary syndrome, mycosis fungoides, thymoma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The absorption of anti-Ty with normal PBL, however, resulted in loss of the ability to stain normal bone marrow cells and preabsorbed with normal PBL was found to stain normal bone marrow cells and neoplastic myeloid cells but not fetal thymocytes. It is suggested that the absorbed anti-Br is capable of detecting differentiation antigens present on immature hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow, which would be anomalously expressed on neoplastic lymphoid cells to T cell lineage.