The blood lymphocytosis in CLL is caused mainly by a rise of immunoglobulin (Ig)-bearing leukemic lymphocytes. Most cells carry Fc-receptors, while the percentage with receptors for human complement is very low with the present technique. The leukemic lymphocytes carry only one of the light chain types, which suggests a monoclonal origin. CLL patients with lymphocytes expressing kappa light chains may have a more benign disease than lambda-CLL. T-lymphocyte levels are high during the early course of the disease but decrease with its progression and are low in patients with "active" disease.
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Mellstedt et al. (1978) studied this question.
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