Epstein-Barr virus in B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: unexpected infection patterns and different infection incidence in low- and high-grade types.
Two hundred and eight cases of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL) occurring in Europeans without any signs of HIV infection were investigated for their association with an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied for EBV-DNA detection, in situ hybridization (ISH) for the cellular localization of EBV-encoded small nuclear RNAs (EBER) and immediate-early RNAs (BHLF), and immunohistology (IH) for the detection of EBV-encoded latent membrane protein (LMP) and EBV nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA2) expression. PCR and EBER-ISH produced congruent results in those cases with amplifiable DNA. EBV was present overall in 26 per cent (54/208) of the B-NHL cases. Through EBER-ISH, the virus could be localized merely in rare non-neoplastic bystander lymphocytes in 27 and additionally in tumour cells of 27 cases. Unexpectedly, the proportion of EBV-infected tumour cells present in the different cases varied between 1 and 100 per cent. All but three of the cases with infected tumour cells were of high-grade malignancy. Correlation with the morphological and immunological tumour phenotype revealed that all cases with more than 80 per cent EBER-positive tumour cells were either B-anaplastic large cell lymphomas (B-ALCL), sporadic Burkitt's lymphomas, or B-NHLs with partial or full plasmacellular differentiation. LMP was consistently absent from Burkitt's lymphomas and constantly expressed in B-ALCLs with EBER-positive tumour cells, while in all other instances it varied greatly and was rarer than EBER expression.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Hummel
M
M
Institute of Pathology, Klinikum Benjamin Franklin, Free University Berlin, Germany.
Anagnostopoulos
I
I
Korbjuhn
P
P
Stein
H
H
D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear / Q000032:analysis; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000032:analysis
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C037662:EBV-associated membrane antigen, Epstein-Barr virus; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins