Characterization of lymphoid cells in the blood of healthy adults: sequential immunological, cytochemical and cytokinetic studies

Differentiation and cytokinetic analyses of normal and neoplastic lymphoid cells in B and T cell malignancies of childhood

The labelling index (LI) of untreated B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B NHL) in children was significantly higher (P less than 0.002) than the LI of untreated T cell malignancies (median LI 27.7% and 10.3%, respectively). In B NHL abdominal tumour material showed a significantly higher in vitro incorporation of tritiated thymidine (3H-dT) than extra-abdominal tumour material (P less than 0.01). Sequential immunological, cytochemical and cytokinetic studies revealed tumour cells in up to three marker-defined subpopulations of lymphoid cells. In all 14 patients examined the LI of E-Ia+sIgM+ cells was higher than the LI of E+Ia+/-sIgM- cells; in all eight patients with Ia+ and Ia- tumour cells the former had a higher LI than the latter (P less than 0.002). In all T cell neoplasia (T ALL/NHL) investigated malignant cells were found in two of the three marker-defined subsets of lymphoid cells. In 10/13 patients the E-rosette positive blast cells had a higher LI than the E-rosette negative T blast cells. For the small group of patients with T cell malignancies no significant difference in the overall LI between OKT9+ stage I (early thymocyte) and OKT9- stage II (cortical thymocyte) neoplasias could be found. However, within the malignant clone of a T cell malignancy the expression of the OKT9 (transferrin receptor) but not the cortical thymocyte (HTA-1) antigen was related to the in vitro 3H-dT incorporation.

Cytochemistry of human T lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood

With sequential investigation of immunological and cytochemical markers on single cells, T lymphocyte subsets defined by monoclonal antibodies were examined in the peripheral blood of healthy adults. Leu-3a+ T cells (helper/inducer) were 80.0 +/- 6.6% dot positive with unspecific acid alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase (ANAE) and 52.2 +/- 15.8% dot positive with diaminopeptidase IV (DAP IV) staining, as compared to 52.6 +/- 7.6% ANAE and 29.1 +/- 10.9% DAP IV dot positivity in Leu-2a+ T cells (suppressor/cytotoxic). Although these differences were significant (P less than 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively), the rather high % of dot positivity in Leu-2a+ cells precludes ANAE or DAP IV staining as a simple method for the determination of T lymphocyte subsets. In acid phosphatase staining, no significant difference in focal positivity between Leu3a+ and Leu-2a+ T cell subpopulations was detected (63.3 +/- 10.9% and 52.3 +/- 10.0%, respectively; P greater than 0.1).