Assessment of a B-cell function in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients were tested for the numbers of T cells, B cells, and cells secreting immunoglobin (Ig) by recently developed methods with antibody coated erythrocytes. Five of seven patients had higher percentages (72–90%) of B cells and lower percentages (4–17%) of T cells than normal controls. The other two patients had lower percentages (6 and 27%) of B cells as well as lower percentages (44 and 21%) of T cells and therefore, 50 and 52% of the cells were neither T nor B but presumably null cells. The proportion of Ig-secreting cells was low (0.02–0.2%) in all patients tested with one exception (0.9%); this patient was the most clinically stable of those tested. Our results suggest that the determination of the percentage of Ig-secreting cells as well as T and B cells may be useful in the clinical prognosis of CLL patients.