Tumor-specific aneuploidy not detected in CD19+ B-lymphoid cells from
myeloma patients in a multidimensional flow cytometric analysis
PA McSweeney, DA Wells, KE Shults, RA Nash, WI Bensinger, CD Buckner and MR Loken
Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,
Seattle, WA 98104, USA.
Aneuploidy and lg light chain restriction were used as separate,
independent tumor specific markers to study 26 patients with multiple
myeloma to determine whether bone marrow B cells, as defined by CD19
expression, are clonally related to myeloma plasma cells. Specimens were
characterized using multidimensional flow cytometry to identify the
presence of clonality in both the B lymphoid and plasma cell populations
using both surface and cytoplasmic staining with antibodies specific for
kappa or lambda lg light chain In none of the patients with multiple
myeloma were CD19+ cells found to be clonally restricted to kappa or
lambda. The monoclonal plasma cells (MPC) were found to be uniformly
negative for CD10, CD19, and CD34, while the CD19+ B lymphoid cells present
within the samples expressed normal intensities and relationships of these
antigens, which allowed them to serve as internal positive controls.
Combined analysis of call surface antigen expression and DNA content
allowed plasma cell populations to be characterized for aneuploidy without
interference from normal bone marrow cells. The MPC, detected on the basis
of bright CD38 expression (CD38+2), demonstrated DNA aneuploidy in 65% of
cases (DNA index range of 0.9 to 1.3). These aneuploid DNA distributions
had typical cell cycle profiles (including G1,S and G2+M) expected of a
proliferating population. In all cases, DNA aneuploidy was confined almost
entirely to the CD38+2, CD19- malignant plasma cells, while cells
expressing CD19 were diploid. These results support the concept that
myeloma is a disease process mediated by self-replicating, late
compartments of B- cell ontogeny.
Volume 88,
Issue 2,
pp. 622-632,
07/15/1996
Copyright © 1996 by The American Society of Hematology