Distinction between burkitt lymphoma subgroups by monoclonal antibodies: Relationships between antigen expression and type of chromosomal translocation

Abstract

Twenty‐six lines derived from 22 Burkitt lymphoma patients were examined for cytoplasmic vs. surface immunoglobulin and the expression of the monoclonal‐antibody‐detected BLA, CALLA and LB‐I antigens. Six of the lines carried the variant translocations 8;2 or 8;22 (three each), 17 lines had the typical 8;14 translocation, I was translocation‐negative (BJAB) and 2 were not examined cytogenetically. Depending on their immunoglobulin and surface marker expression, the BL lines could be subdivided into several subgroups. There was a strong inverse correlation between the expression of the CALLA and the LB‐I marker. All BLA‐lines were CALLA‐, whereas the CALLA+ lines could be either BLA‐ or BLA+. All six variant translocations belonged to the CALLA‐BLA‐LB‐I + category. Only one set of three lines, derived from the patient with the 8;14 translocation, belonged to the same subgroup. This suggests that the typical vs. the variant translocation freezes the BL cell at a different stage of differentiation. The variant translocation‐carrying subtypes represent probably a somewhat more advanced stage of differentiation.