Reactivity of anti-macrophage monoclonal antibody D11 in human leukemia and malignant lymphoma.

We have studied the reactivity patterns of a previously described pan-macrophage monoclonal antibody (MAb) D11 in 324 cases of acute leukemia and malignant lymphoma (ML). Reaction of D11 in tissue sections was restricted to histiocytes and macrophages. In non-Hodgkin's ML, D11 helped to confirm or to establish the histiocytic nature in 8 of 96 cases, i.e., in 4 of 6 histiocytic MLs; 2 of 13 anaplastic large-cell lymphomas; 1 of 4 large-cell immunoblastic clear-cell MLs; and 1 of 2 histiocytosis X cases. Positive reaction of D11 in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) was found in 9 of 86 cases (all belonging to early B-lineage leukemia), of which 4 were CD34-positive and 5 co-expressed 1 or more myeloid/monocytic antigens. MAb D11 did not react in 42 cases of acute-myeloblastic-leukemia (AML) FAB variants M0-M5, except 1 acute mixed-lineage leukemia M1/pre-pre-B. Comparative study of the MAb D11 and a standard CD68 MAb KP- 1 showed that the antigens belong to different epitopes of different molecules.