Circulating T cells in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma--a study using monoclonal antibodies against normal and malignant T cells.

This article focuses on a study in which circulating mononuclear cells from eight patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) were examined using the OKT series of mouse monoclonal antibodies against T-cell differentiation antigens, and two mouse monoclonal antibodies, BE1 and BE2, which selectively react with CTCL cells, EB virus-transformed B cells and some long-term T-cell lines. Mononuclear cells were separated from freshly collected heparinized blood by velocity sedimentation of Ficoll-Hypaque. This study demonstrates the diagnostic value of the antibodies BE1 and BE2 in CTCL as they are able to detect circulating malignant T cells at a stage in CTCL where no other abnormality of the circulating T-cell sub-populations is evident.