title: Shift of immunoglobulin phenotypes in B-cell precursor cell lines.
abstract: Rearrangement of immunoglobulin chain genes is a hallmark of mammalian B cell development and differential expression of immunoglobulin chains has aided in the diagnosis and prognostication of patients with ALL. Matsu et al. describe two novel precursor B-cell lines with shift of expression of immunoglobulin phenotypes at diagnosis and relapse. The impact of this observation on diagnosis and the elucidation of the biology of the neoplastic cells will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faderl
authors.forename: Zeev
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Estrov
mesh_terms: D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015328:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte, Light Chain / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007138:Immunoglobulin delta-Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007621:Karyotyping; D015452:Precursor B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D007138:Immunoglobulin delta-Chains; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains