Quantitation of surface-membrane and intracellular gamma, mu and kappa chains of normal and neoplastic human lymphocytes.

Using automated haemagglutination and haemagglutination-inhibition methods which are capable of measuring gamma, mu or kappa chains in the nanogram range, we have examined a variety of normal and neoplastic human lymphocyte populations for the amounts of their surface-membrane and internal immunoglobulins. We find IgG to be the predominant immunoglobulin on the surface-membrane and within various normal human lymphocytes, including thymocytes. IgM, in addition to IgG, is found on the surface of tonsil cells. Chronic lymphatic leukaemic lymphocytes consistently had small amounts of surface-membrane immunoglobulin and larger amounts internally (usually IgM), whereas large amounts of immunoglobulin (usually IgM) were present on the surface-membranes and internally in leukaemic lymphosarcoma cells. Both types of cells had the B-specific surface-antigens. Different types of lymphatic leukaemias may represent neoplastic counterparts of different stages of B cell differentiation.