Uniform detection of immunoglobulin-gene rearrangement in benign lymphoepithelial lesions.
The term "benign lymphoepithelial lesion" is used to describe the salivary-gland lymphocytic infiltration and epithelial changes typically found in association with Sjögren's syndrome. We used Southern blot hybridization techniques to examine the immunoglobulin genes in salivary-gland tissue derived from eight patients with benign lymphoepithelial lesions. Three of these patients had intrasalivary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma complicating the lesions, whereas the lesions in the remaining five were all histologically benign. Ten samples from the eight patients all revealed rearrangement of both the heavy-chain and light-chain immunoglobulin genes. In one of the patients in whom non-Hodgkin's lymphoma involved both the salivary-gland lesion and an ipsilateral lymph node, the rearrangements of the heavy-chain and light-chain immunoglobulin genes detected at the two sites were identical. One other patient had two distinct benign lymphoepithelial lesions removed two years apart. The rearrangements of the heavy-chain as well as the kappa light-chain genes detected in these two lesions were entirely different. These data suggest that B-cell clonal expansion has an integral role in the pathophysiology of the benign lymphoepithelial lesion and may explain the increased incidence of lymphoma noted in association with this disorder.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001402:B-Lymphocytes; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000235:genetics*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000473:pathology*; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*
D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D004247:DNA