Hairy cell leukemia: Establishment of a cell line and its characteristics

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Abstract
A hairy cell leukemia (HCL) line, ZK‐H, was established from peripheral blood of a 69‐year‐old male patient. The ZK‐H cells and the patient's original hairy cells shared the same surface properties; both possessed membrane‐bound IgG with kappa light chains and villous surface structures. The ZK‐H line carried Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV)‐determined nuclear antigen, but the patient's fresh leukemic cells lacked this antigen. Morphologically, the ZK‐H cells appeared lymphoblastoid and more primitive than the preculture cells. The ZK‐H line had a hyperdiploid chromosome constitution of 47 and trisomy no. 2. The presence of membrane‐bound immunoglobulin and of B‐cell tropic EBV in this cell line provides further evidence for the B‐cell nature of HCL in this patient.