ANALYSIS OF MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIC DIFFERENTIATION BY A CELL-SURFACE MARKER PANEL INCLUDING A FUCOSE-BINDING LECTIN FROM LOTUS-TETRAGONOLOBUS

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 63  (6) , 1285-1290
Abstract
The fucose-binding lectin from Lotus tetragonolobus (FBL-L) was previously shown to bind specifically to normal cells of the myeloid and monocytic lineages. The utility of fluoresceinated FBL-L as a leukemia differentiation marker in conjunction with a panel of other frequently used surface markers (Fc receptor, HLA-DR, OKM1 and antimonocyte antibody) was explored. FBL-L reacted with leukemic cells in 8/9 cases of clinically recognized acute myeloid leukemia, including myeloid blast crisis of chronic granulocytic leukemia, 3/3 cases of chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia, and in 2/7 cases of clinically undifferentiated acute leukemia. Correlations were noted between reactivity with FBL-L, and DR and Fc receptor expression. Among continuous cell lines, FBL-L bound with high intensity to a majority of HL-60 and U937 cells. The less well differentiated myeloblast cell lines, KG-1, KG1a, and HL-60 blast II, exhibited less FBL-L binding than HL-60 and U937. A moderate proportion of K562 cells exhibited low level binding of FBl-L. Several lymphoblastic cell lines exhibited a pattern of low intensity binding that was distinguishable from the high intensity binding pattern of the myeloblastic lines. FBL-L reactivity of U937 was enhanced by induction of differentiation with leukocyte conditioned medium, but not dimethylsulfoxide. Such treatments induced contrasting patterns of change of HL-60 and U937 when labeled with OKM1, .alpha.-Mono, and HLA-DR. These studies demonstrate the application of FBL-L to analysis and quantitation of myelomonocytic leukemic differentiation.