B-1a, B-1b and conventional B cell lymphoma from enzootic bovine leukosis.

In order to characterize the phenotypes of tumor cells and to clarify from which B cell lineage the lymphomas were derived, ten cows with enzootic bovine leukosis were examined by means of immunohistologic staining and flow cytometry. The tumor cells expressed mainly major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II+ (10/10), BoCD11b+ (9/10), IgG1+ (8/10), B-B2+ (8/10) BoCD5+ (7/10), and lambda light chain+ (7/10). Tumor cells from only one animal expressed sIgM+ (1/10). Tumor cells from all ten animals were negative for IgG2, BoCD3, BoCD4, BoCD8, WC1-N2, and IL-2R alpha. The phenotypes of these tumor cells were all slightly different, suggesting that bovine leukemia virus (BLV)-induced lymphoma expresses phenotypic diversity. Moreover, tumor cells from seven cattle coexpressed BoCD5 and BoCD11b (B-1a cells). On the other hand, tumor cells from two of them only expressed BoCD11b (B-1b cells), and those from one were negative for both BoCD5 and BoCD11b (conventional B cells). Therefore, we concluded that BLV-induced lymphoma cells can be derived from B-1a, B-1b and conventional B cells.