Characterization of normal and regenerating bone marrow cells with a panel of monoclonal antibodies

To obtain baseline data for the diagnosis of residual leukaemia or lymphoma in bone marrow (BM), BM samples of 12 normal adults, 6 patients treated with chemotherapy for solid tumours and 6 patients treated with chemotherapy for leukaemia or lymphoma during remission were assessed with a panel of monoclonal antibodies by fluorescence microscopy immediately following chemotherapy. A large variability between normal individuals was found concerning the percentages of T lymphocytes and T cell subsets, B lymphocytes, HLA-DR+ and OKT10+ cells, due to variation in BM composition and, presumably, peripheral blood contamination. The regenerating BM cells also showed a large variability and, in addition, sometimes very high percentages (up to 19%) of CALLA+, c mu + s mu-, c mu + kappa lambda- and TdT+ cells were found. The interpretation of data on individual BM samples of patients assessed for leukaemia or lymphoma should therefore be related to: the amount of contaminating peripheral blood cells; the cellular composition of the BM samples as determined by May-Grünwald Giemsa staining; baseline data of age-matched normal controls and of regenerating BM of patients without haematological diseases.