An LE cell is a neutrophil or macrophage that has phagocytized (engulfed) the denatured nuclear material of another cell. The denatured material is an absorbed hematoxylin body (also called an LE body).
They are a characteristic of lupus erythematosus, but also found in similar connective tissue disorders.
The LE cell was discovered in bone marrow in 1948 by Malcolm McCallum Hargraves (1903–1982), a Physician and Practicing Histologist at the Mayo Clinic et al.
Classically, the LE cell is analyzed microscopically, but it is also possible to investigate this phenomenon by flow cytometry.