Flow cytometric analysis of human bone marrow. II. Normal B lymphocyte development.

A panel of B lymphoid-reactive monoclonal antibodies was used to analyze the phenotypic changes that accompany B lymphocyte development in normal human bone marrow. The B lymphoid cells were identified using light scattering and the expression of CD19 on a flow cytometer. Quantitative three-color immunofluorescence was then used to correlate other cell surface antigens on these cells identified as B lymphoid in normal marrow. CD10 and CD20 identified almost exclusive populations and provided a convenient means of discriminating between the less and more mature B lineage cells. The CD10+ cells could be further subdivided using CD34. The population of CD19+, CD10+, CD34+ cells comprised only 0.6% of marrow cells, but these contained the majority of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT+) cells. In the assessment of class II antigens, HLA-DR was expressed on all B lineage cells whereas HLA-DP preceded HLA-DQ in appearance during the developmental process. Among the later antigens expressed on B lineage cells, cell surface IgM, CD20, and HLA-DQ were expressed at essentially the same time. Cell surface CD10 was lost at the time when CD21 and CD22 were acquired on the cell surface. These data illustrate that multiparameter flow cytometry can be used to define a continuous progression of stages of B lymphocyte development based on cell surface antigen expression even though these cells represent a minor fraction of normal marrow cells.