Application of antibodies in the flow cytometric analysis of benign and malignant cells

The application of (monoclonal) antibodies in the dualparameter flow cytometric analysis of cells, either benign or malignant, can on the one hand facilitate the recognition of their type or degree of differentiation, and on the other hand allow the quantification of cell populations at different stages of the cell cycle or with certain cell biological characteristics. The usefulness and advantages of this approach are illustrated here on the basis of studies with antibodies to specific keratins which make up part of the epithelial cytoskeleton.