Independent expression of the surface markers 5'-nucleotidase and cALLA on leukemic cells

High levels of the ectozyme 5'-nucleotidase (5'-N) and the common ALL-antigen (cALLA) are coexpressed on leukemic blast cells in common ALL, in the lymphoid blast crisis of CML and also on the lymphoblastoid cell-line Nalm-1. Clinically this coexpression can help to subclassify leukemias and may be of diagnostic and prognostic significance. In an attempt to study the mechanism underlying this simultaneous expression plasmamembrane subfractionation was undertaken on Nalm-1. When membrane-shedding from intact cells is induced by sublytic concentrations of the lysophosphatidyl-choline analogue ET-12-H, membrane subfractions are obtained which contain 30-40% of total cellular 5'-N, which is most of the enzyme carried on the cell surface, in a highly enriched form. Under these conditions only a very low release of intracellular enzymes is observed. On the other hand cALLA is not accumulated in these membrane fractions to any appreciable extent. The predominant part of this antigen is still on the intact cells remaining after the shedding procedure. It is concluded that the simultaneous expression of 5'-N and cALLA on Nalm-1 and leukemic blasts is not regulated by a physical association or a close neighborhood of these antigens on the membrane level.