Delineation of Subsets in Human B‐Cell Lymphomas by a Set of Monoclonal Antibodies Raised against B Lymphoma Cells

Abstract

Murine hybridoma antibodies to a human B-cell lymphoma were developed. After screening against normal T cells, monocytes and granulocytes, 11 antibodies that reacted with cells from other B-cell lymphomas remained, of which 10 showed individually distinct staining patterns as tested by indirect fluorescence. When tested against lymphomas or cell lines, none of these antibodies revealed staining patterns suggesting reactivity with conventional B-cell surface markers, such as Ig, complement factor 3 receptors, or HLA-DR antigens. Only 1 of the antibodies (CB1) reacted with human serum, as determined by a blocking assay. The antibodies belong to different Ig isotypes. Two antibodies (GB13 and GB14) reacted with > 5% of normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These reactions were mainly due to reactivity with B cells. The antibodies reacted only in a few cases with acute leukemias, B cell lines and follicular lymphomas. Distinct patterns of reactivity in different histological groups of diffuse lymphomas were obtained, suggesting that the antibodies may be useful in delineating phenotypic subsets among human B-cell lymphomas.