The Nature of Hairy Cells - A Study with a Panel of Monoclonal Antibodies

Abstract
In all 11 patients with hairy-cell leukemia (HCL) tested, a high percentage of peripheral blood and splenic (3 cases) hairy cells (HC) reacted with 2 B-cell-specific monoclonal antibodies (FMC1 and FMC7) but failed to stain with 5 monocyte/macrophage-specific (FMC17, UCHM1, SM1, SM.phi. and OKM1) and with 4 T-cell-specific antibodies (UCHT1, Leu1, 2a and 3a). The data provide further evidence supporting the B-cell nature of the HC of HCL.