Quantification of CD24 and CD45 antigens in parallel allows a precise determination of B-cell maturation stages: relevance for the study of B-cell neoplasias.

Quantitative expression, i.e. absolute number of monoclonal antibody molecules bound per cell, was evaluated for CD24 and CD45 by flow cytometry with standards of fluorescence intensity on a panel of normal and neoplastic B cells. The CD24 antigen was expressed at homogeneous high level in fetal bone marrow and liver. Its density decreased progressively in the other normal tissues in parallel with the B-cell maturation. The ratio between CD24 density measured on fetal bone marrow B cells and that seen on adult peripheral B cells was 6:1. The CD45 antigen density was lower on fetal bone marrow cells than in the more mature stages. Fetal spleen lymphocytes and all the mature B lymphocytes displayed the same CD45 density than that seen on normal adult peripheral T cells. The CD24/CD45 antigen density ratio was precisely related to the stage of B-cell maturation. The same pattern of variation of CD24 and CD45 antigen density was seen on B-cell neoplasias, with a significantly higher value of CD24 and lower value of CD45 in acute lymphoblastic leukemias than in chronic malignancies. CD24 and CD45 antigen levels were frequently out of the range observed in the corresponding normal population. Among ALL patients, a low CD24/CD45 antigen density ratio was associated with a good prognosis. These data confirm the interest of an absolute quantitative study for widely distributed antigens.