Antigenic Analysis of Human Malignant Myeloid Cells by Immimoperoxidase

Antigenic markers associated with subpopulations of hematologic cell types are usually identified by immunofluorescence, either by direct microscopic examination or by flow cytometry. Such methods for identifying cell populations have been applied to the classification of normal peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) subpopulations or for the identification of monoclonal populations in cases of (mainly) lymphoproliferative disorders (1,2,3). Immunofluorescence is probably the most sensitive procedure at our disposal, at this time, for the identification of cell surface markers on subset populations. However, there are a number of limitations in the use of immunofluorescence procedures for monitoring and classifying cell populations, particularly in defining cells expressing specific markers in neoplastic conditions. This paper describes a procedure which, we feel, may offer advantages over the traditional immunofluorescence procedure.