Isoelectric focusing pattern of acid phosphatase and acid esterase in human blood cells, including thymocytes, T lymphocytes, and B lymphocytes.

Lysosomal acid phosphatase and acid esterase from highly purified, viable human thymocytes, T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, granulocytes, monocytes, platelets, and erythrocytes were subjected to direct measurement of activity and to isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide thin-layer slabs. The typical patterns for each cell line were found to be distinctly different from the results recently presented in this journal. The study described here opens a new possibility for the biochemical identification of cells and their functional derivatives and neoplastic variants.