Surface markers on peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with follicular lymphoma suggesting a clonal origin.

PBL of 14 patients with FL were examined by membrane fluorescence using anti-Ig antibodies (mu, gamma, delta; kappa, lambda), spontaneous rosette formation with SRBC and rosette formation with SRBC coated by antibody-complement complexes (EAC). Eight of the patients were untreated. In 3 patients monoclonal Ig were detected in the serum or urine. 7 patients exhibited clonal proliferation as judged by analysis of surface Ig. In addition, normal or elevated figures for EAC rosettes were found. The strong expression of S. Ig in PBL of FL patients is in contrast to the findings in CLL and multiple meloma, the increase of EAC-rosettes is shared by myeloma patients. It follows that membrane properties of PBL as studied in this work is of value in the diagnosis of malignancies of the B-cell system.