Rosette formation with mouse erythrocytes: probable marker for human B lymphocytes.

Studies of peripheral blood lymphocytes were performed in 10 healthy control subjects and 15 patients with hematological disorders. Spontaneous formation of mouse red blood cell-forming rosettes (MRFC) were observed with 8.1% of lymphocytes in control subjects (range 4.2--12.0%), while rosette formation with sheep red blood cells (SRFC) and complement-coated sheep erythrocyte (EAC rosettes) was present in 69.2 and 10.7%, respectively. Mouse rosette-forming cells were increased in parallel fashion with EAC rosettes in five patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia suggesting that mouse red blood cells (MRBC) may serve as a B cell marker. A single patient with a lymphoma associated with increased peripheral SRFC did not have a concomitant rise of MRFC. It appears likely that MRBC will provide another detection marker for B lymphocytes by spontaneous rosette formation.