Differentiation in B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell
populations with CD34-positive subpopulations
GG Re, Z Estrov, GR Antoun, EA Felix, DP Pinkel and TF Zipf
Department of Experimental Pediatrics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center, Houston 77030.
B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia bone marrow specimens that
contained subpopulations of cells with immunophenotypes corresponding to
early (CD34) and late (CD20) and (CD22) stages of normal B-cell
differentiation were studied. Subpopulations of cells were isolated
according to immunophenotype and then analyzed by both a clonogenic assay
and molecular genetic methods. Clonal equivalence of the early and late
immunophenotypic subpopulations was confirmed for each case by the
demonstration of identical lg gene rearrangements. The in vitro
colony-forming assay consistently showed a growth advantage for the CD34+
subpopulations over the CD34- subpopulations. CD34 mRNA was detected
readily in these isolated precursor cells. When two specimens in which
virtually all of the leukemia cells were CD34+ and CD34+CD20+ and
CD34+CD22+ subpopulations were also present the CD34 mRNA was limited to
the cells without the late-stage differentiation antigens on their surface.
Furthermore, the c-myb mRNA was found only in the subpopulations that also
contained CD34 mRNA. Our results show that a limited program of
differentiation reminiscent of normal B-cell development may be present in
this leukemia.
Volume 78,
Issue 3,
pp. 575-580,
08/01/1991
Copyright © 1991 by The American Society of Hematology
