Application of a microseparation technique allowing for extensive marker studies on small bone marrow specimens

The characterization of surface and intracellular markers of hematopoietic cells by immunocytochemical methods is widely used. While examination of cells of the peripheral blood can easily be performed, investigations of bone marrow cells can be hampered by technical difficulties in labeling routine marrow smears or by limited size of specimens required for cytocentrifugation. A simple and highly efficient method for isolation of bone marrow cells by a microseparation technique is described. Only two to three drops of a routine bone marrow aspirate are necessary for preparation of up to 100 cytocentrifuge slides thereby exceeding separation efficiency of conventional gradient centrifugation by three- to more than four-fold. The application of the method for marker studies on normal marrow and marrow from patients with hematologic malignancies is exemplified.