Practical immunocytochemical identification of human blood cells.

A practical immunocytochemical method of demonstrating surface antigens of human blood cells on air-dried smears or other cytologic preparations has been developed. This method uses monoclonal antibodies as the primary antibodies and calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase as the enzymatic indicator. Combined staining with cytochemical stains for myeloperoxidase or nonspecific esterase on the same slide is also possible when needed. These methods are very useful for accurate identification of human blood cells on the commonly available clinical specimens and are very helpful in the diagnosis and classification of various hematologic neoplasms, including chronic lymphocytic leukemias, acute leukemias, and related diseases.