The use of the IgG-latex test in human leukemia.

Lymphocytes with receptors for IgG and phagocytes were detected simultaneously by incubating Bøyum separated mononuclear cells with IgG coated latex particles. IgG-latex particles formed rosettes around lymphoid cells with receptors for IgG, whereas phagocytes ingested these particles. This test was performed on cells from normal subjects and from patients with various diseases involving lymphocyte or monocyte proliferations. The results show that most chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells formed IgG-latex rosettes. Hairy cells from the patients studied showed a similar behaviour but poor phagocytic properties. Acute monocytic leukemia cells, in contrast, were largely phagocytes. This test is easy to perform and does not require sophisticated reagents, thus providing a basis for reproducibility, a rare occurrence in cellular immunology studies.