A B-lymphoma cell line that forms rosettes with neuraminidase-treated sheep erythrocytes through monoclonal surface immunoglobulin.

Undifferentiated lymphoma from a 39-year-old female became serially xenotransplantable to preirradiated nude mice. The tumor cells (KT) possessed a monoclonal surface immunoglobulin (SIg mu, kappa) and formed rosettes with neuraminidase-treated sheep erythrocytes (SEn). Precise characterizations of the SEn rosette, however, revealed the following facts: (1) Neuraminidase-untreated or 2-aminoethylisothiuronium bromide (AET) treated sheep erythrocytes were not bound to the KT cells. (2) SEn rosettes on the KT cells did not show a temperature dependency. (3) Neuraminidase-treated erythrocytes from man, horse, mouse, and rabbit were not bound to the KT cells. (4) Preincubation of the KT cells with antipolyvalent immunoglobulin or anti-kappa-chain serum abolished the SEn rosette formation. (5) Trypsinization decreased both SEn rosettes and SIg on the KT cells. (6) SEn rosettes on the KT cells were too loose to be separated from nonrosetting cells by a Percoll gradient centrifugation method. Summarizing these results, the monoclonal SIg on the KT cells recognized sheep erythrocyte antigen(s) that were exposed only after the neuraminidase treatment. Therefore, this was considered to be a case with peculiar B-lymphoma cells that bound SEn through their SIg.