Methods of simultaneous visualization of cytoplasmic enzyme reactivity and cell surface antigens (by cytochemistry combined with immunocytochemistry) in individual hematopoietic and lymphoid cells.

Enzyme cytochemistry alone, and more recently, immunocytohistochemistry have been satisfactorily used by hematologists and hematopathologists for the study, diagnosis and classification of human hematological and lymphoproliferative disorders. To enhance the potential of these techniques, the possibility of combining immunocytohistochemical techniques with enzyme cytohistochemistry with simultaneous visualization of both reaction products has been examined by some investigators. This approach has been applied to normal, reactive and neoplastic material using mainly cell suspensions and frozen sections, with the aim of improving cell identification in specimens containing different cell types, of determining the cytochemical profiles of well-defined lymphocyte subpopulations and of establishing the cell surface phenotypes of cells that are positive for certain enzymes. In this paper, published reports on this subject are reviewed and compared with the experience of our study group.