IMMUNOHISTOLOGIC STUDIES OF LYMPHOMAS - NEW METHODOLOGY YIELDS NEW INFORMATION AND POSES NEW PROBLEMS

For the first time the fluorescein-labeled antibody methods provided the possibility for specific cell recognition according to the antigen composition of the cells. The use of these methods for diagnostic pathology, however, is limited because they need fresh unfixed material. Significant progress has been achieved by the development of methods using enzyme-labeled antibodies to detect tissue antigens by demonstration of the enzyme activity fixed to the tissues by the specific antibodies; horseradish peroxidase being preferred for this purpose. This method can be used on formol fixed paraffin sections providing a new approach to detect tissue antigens. The extensive observations of the authors obtained by this method on malignant lymphomas and related conditions including 250 presumptive B cell neoplasmas using different (anti κ, anti λ, anti γ, anti α, and anti μ) immune sera are demonstrated in two tables. Not all cells of the B lymphocyte series show immunoglobulin content by this method. Positive reaction is shown by follicular center cells, immunoblasts and plasma cells. Negative reaction can not be taken as evidence against B cell origin since negative cells may be B cells in the non secreting stage. The problem of interpretation of observations, in some cases of lymphomas, of multiple (polytypic) immunoperoxidase reactions within the current immunologic concepts are discussed.