Multimarker analysis of T-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia
SM Marks, S Yanovich, DS Rosenthal, WC Moloney and SF Schlossman
A 68-yr-old male with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) presented with
splenomegaly and skin infiltration but no lymphadenopathy. The peripheral
blood WBC cound was 300 x 10(9)/liter, with 95% small mature- appearing
lymphocytes that were E-rosette positive and EAC-rosette negative. Further
characterization of the patient's cells was performed using antisera with
known lymphoid sub-population specificity. Anti- p23,30, which reacts with
normal circulating B cells but not with T cells or thymocytes, was
unreactive with the patient's cells. Anti-311, which reacts with both
thymocytes and circulating T cells, was reactive with the patient's cells.
Anti-Bk, which reacts only with thymocytes and not with circulating
T-cells, failed to react with the patient's cells. The enzyme terminal
deoxynucleotidyl transferase, present in thymocytes but absent for
circulating T-cells, was also absent from the patient's lymphoid cells.
Multimarker analysis therefore showed a mature T-lymphocyte phenotype on
this patient's leukemia cells. Further functional analysis will probably
show that such cells represent clonal expansion of a mature T-cell
subpopulation, analogous to the B-cell clonality of common-variant CLL.
Volume 51,
Issue 3,
pp. 435-438,
03/01/1978
Copyright © 1978 by The American Society of Hematology
