title: Immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement in B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas detected by the polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement serves as a marker of clonality and cell lineage in B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. In this study we used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect clonal rearrangements of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene in a group of patients with B-cell lymphomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  DNA was extracted from frozen tissue of 40 B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and subjected to PCR amplification using primers that recognize conserved sequences of the variable and joining regions of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Monoclonal rearrangements were detected in 23 of 40 malignant B-cell lymphomas. No clonal rearrangements were detected in the 10 control cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that this PCR-based technique may provide a simplified and rapid approach for the detection of clonal immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangements in B-cell lymphomas without recourse to Southern blotting, which can be reserved for cases in which PCR is negative.
authors.affiliation: Experimental and Clinical Oncology Laboratory, Oncology Institute, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alaibac
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paradiso
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giannella
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Labriola
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marzullo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lorusso
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Lena
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D015326:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte, Heavy Chain / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm