Use of Immunological Reagents Prepared in Animals to Characterise the Surface of Leukaemic Cells

Abstract

Two central questions emerged concerning the immune response to leukaemia cell surface antigens. One concerns the relationship of such antigens to those on the surface of normal cells: are antigenic markers shared in common with normal cells of the T cell, B cell, or myeloid series, and if so, do the overlaps provide valid clues to the target cell of the malignant transformation? And if not, do we have truly tumour specific antigens which can be utilised for monitoring disease progress, for instance, in the prediction of relapse? The second concerns the role of viruses in leukaemia; can immunological procedures detect glycoproteins of viral origin on the surface of human leukaemic cells?