SURFACE IgM SPECIFICITY ON CELLS DERIVED FROM A BURKITT'S LYMPHOMA

Burkitt's lymphoma biopsy specimens from a 16-year-old African were found to differ from more than forty previously tested biopsy specimens from patients with this disease. Direct immunofluorescence detected a surface accumulation of IgM on living lymphoma cells, with a light-chain specificity. Anti-IgM or anti-light-chain sera killed the cells in the presence of complement even in high dilutions. Surface IgM specificity was maintained in three derived cell lines, grown in suspension for more than 4 months in vitro.