Delineation of subsets in human B-cell lymphomas by a set of monoclonal antibodies raised against B lymphoma cells.

Murine hybridoma antibodies to a human B-cell lymphoma were developed. After screening against normal T cells, monocytes, and granulocytes 11 antibodies that reacted with cells from other B-cell lymphomas remained, of which 10 showed individually distinct staining patterns, as tested by indirect fluorescence. When tested against lymphomas or cell lines, none of these antibodies revealed staining patterns suggesting reactivity with conventional B-cell surface markers, such as immunoglobulin, complement factor 3 receptors, or HLA-DR antigens. Only one of the antibodies (GB1) reacted with human serum, as determined by a blocking assay. The antibodies were found to belong to different immunoglobulin isotypes. Two antibodies (GB13 and GB14) reacted with greater than 5% of normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These reactions were mainly due to reactivity with B cells. The antibodies reacted only in a few cases with acute leukaemias, B-cell lines, and follicular lymphomas. On the other hand, distinct patterns of reactivity in different histological groups of diffuse lymphomas were obtained, suggesting that the antibodies may be useful in delineating phenotypic subsets among human B-cell lymphomas.