A semi-solid medium colony assay was used in common acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) to test growth inhibition of leukemic progenitors (CFU-L) after exposure to monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) directed against CD10 and CD9 antigens. Peripheral or bone marrow cells from 15 patients were plated after exposure to various concentrations of ALB2, a CD10 cytotoxic MoAb, followed by complement lysis. CFU-L inhibition was complete (no residual colony) in 5 cases (33%), marked (greater than or equal to 95%) in 4 cases (27%), but only moderate (64% +/- 28) in 6 cases (40%). This inhibition was not related to the percentage of cALLA positive cells before exposure to MoAb. In addition, cells of 5 patients were exposed to BA1 (CD24) + complement. In these cases, the proportion of CFU-L inhibition was equal to or higher than with ALB2. In 3 cases, cells were exposed to an association of ALB2 and SB4 (CD19) MoAbs followed by complement lysis, with a marked inhibition (greater than or equal to 99%) in 2/3 cases. These observations give supplementary support to the use of several MoAbs directed against various antigens present at early stages of B differentiation.