Surface charge characteristics of peripheral blood lymphocytes in chronic lymphatic leukemia and malignant lymphoma

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL) and malignant lymphoma (ML) were tested for their surface negative charge characteristics and compared with lymphocytes from normal subjects by use of measurements of lymphocyte agglutination with a positively charged poly-L-lysine (PLL) molecule and by use of electron microscopic observation of lymphocytes labeled with cationized ferritin (CF). Unfixed lymphocytes from CLL and ML patients exhibited clustering and patching of CF particles, whereas normal lymphocytes had a uniform, continuous CF-labeling pattern. Lymphocytes from CLL patients had significantly higher agglutination with PLL than did normal lymphocytes.