The buffy coat leukoagglutination (BCLA) test

Abstract The clumping of leukocytes in the buffy coat of whole blood is a new approach to the leukoagglutination technique. Not only is this procedure simpler, it produces consistent replicates and the results are reproducible. One of its features is the lack of cell manipulation. Buffy coat leukoagglutination (BCLA) can be induced by the addition of a variety of antigens, lectins or allogeneic sera to small samples of whole blood. It is an indicator of both cell-mediated immune responses and humoral anti-leukocyte activity. The occurrence of two morphologically distinct types of clumping also reflects this duality of the test. There is some evidence that BCLA may be a model for in vivo events.