Classification of Human Leukemia by Membrane Antigen Analysis with Xenoantisera1

Rabbit and monkey antisera after appropriate absorption were rendered specific for normal or leukemic lymphoidand myeloid-associated antigens. Antisera defining a common pe ripheral blood T-cell antigen, a thymus leukemia antigen, HLADR or la-like antigen, common acute lymphoblastic leukemia antigen (CALLA), and a myeloid-monocyte (M) antigen were used in a microcytotoxicity assay to classify leukemic cells from 30 patients in a double blind study. The antisera to the M antigen reacted with adherent peripheral blood cells and polymorphonuclear leukocytes and failed to react with nonadherent mononuclear cells and enriched T-cells and chronic lyrrtphocytic leukemia cells. The M antisera also reacted with U937, a monocytic-type cell line, and with HL60, a promyelocytic-type cell line, but failed to react with T and B lymphoblastoid cell lines. The specificities of the other antisera have been de scribed in previous reports. Cells from three of the patients could not be phenotyped by microcytotoxicity testing. Cells from 25 patients had a consen sus morphological or histochemical diagnosis of either acute lymphoblastic leukemia or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia. The serological classification of these patients using the five types of antisera listed above were consistent with the consensus diagnosis. In addition, the lymphoid cancers were further subclassified as to T-, B-, or thymus antigen types. There was no consensus lymphoid versus myeloid diagnosis on cells from two patients. The serological classification in both cases fa vored a diagnosis of myeloid rather than lymphoid leukemia.