Osmotic fragility of leukaemic and normal lymphocytes

The osmotic fragility of cord blood lymphocytes (CBLs), normal adult lymphocytes (NALs) and leukaemic cells was studied using hypotonic saline. Leukaemic cells were more resistant to hypotonic treatment than cord blood or adult lymphocytes. At low hypotonic saline concentrations (less than 0.2% NaCl), almost all of the NALs and CBLs were lysed after thirty minutes at 4 degrees C, whilst a large proportion of chronic lymphatic leukaemia cells remained intact. This phenomenon could conceivably be used to separate tumour cells from normal lymphoid cells.