Ecto-5'-nucleotidase (ecto-5'-NT) activity was measured in human B cells at different stages of development. Ecto-5'-NT activity of B cell preparations from fetal spleen and cord blood was 5.08 and 5.59 +/- 2.8 nmol/hr/10(6) cells, respectively; that of B cell preparations from adult peripheral blood, spleen, or lymph node was fivefold to sixfold higher (27.9 +/- 12, 29.2 and 33.8 nmol/hr/10(6) cells, respectively). The increased enzyme activity in B cell preparations from adult peripheral blood as compared with cord blood paralleled increased percentages of 5'-NT+ cells (69 +/- 12% vs 32 +/- 17%) and an average of twice as much enzyme activity per positive cell. Small, resting B cells that cannot synthesize Ig in vitro in response to pokeweed mitogen (PWM) were isolated from adult peripheral blood by mouse erythrocyte rosetting. Total ecto-5'-NT activity and the percentage of 5'-NT+ cells were equivalent in total B cells and the mouse erythrocyte rosette-positive subpopulation. Thus, ecto-5'-NT activity is acquired before B cells gain the ability to differentiate into Ig-secreting plasma cells in response to PWM. Ecto-5'-NT activity was also measured in B cell preparations from eight patients with common variable immunodeficiency. Six had reduced ecto-5'-NT activity (2.83 to 15.4 nmol/hr/10(6) cells), and two had normal activity (34.7 and 58.2 nmol/hr/10(6) cells). B cells from all six patients with low ecto-5'-NT activity failed to synthesize Ig when cultured with PWM and normal irradiated T cells. Of the two patients with normal B cell ecto-5'-NT activity, one also had B cells unresponsive to PWM, but B cells from the other patient appeared to more normal, in that they synthesized IgM and IgG when cultured with PWM plus irradiated allogeneic T cells. Thus, measurement of B cell ecto-5'-NT activity allows the subclassification of patients who have a common inability to synthesize immunoglobulin in vitro response to PWM. B cells with low ecto-5'-NT activity are presumably blocked at an earlier stage in development than B cells with normal ecto-5'-NT activity. Evaluation of ecto-5'-NT activity along with the expression of other B cell surface antigens should aid in the definition of discrete stages of B cell development.