Comparison between the monoclonal antibodies Ki-67 and PC10 in 125 malignant lymphomas.
The monoclonal antibody (MAb) Ki-67 detects a nuclear proliferation-associated antigen which corresponds to a non-histone protein with a molecular weight of 395 and 345 kD. Its prognostic relevance has been assessed in both lymphoid and non-lymphoid tumours. The MAb PC10 picks up the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), which is a 36 kD nuclear protein associated with the cell cycle. Whereas Ki-67 works only in fresh material, PC10 detects a fixation-resistant epitope of PCNA. Preliminary data have revealed a linear relationship between Ki-67 and PC10 reactivity in normal lymphoid tissue and in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs). We applied Ki-67 and PC10 to frozen and routine sections, respectively, from 25 examples of Hodgkin's disease (HD) (14 nodular sclerosis, 6 lymphocyte predominance, 5 mixed cellularity) and 100 NHLs (corresponding to the main varieties of the updated Kiel classification). The results obtained can be summarized as follows: (1) both MAbs gave rise to extremely variable results within the same category of NHLs; (2) most Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells (50-98 per cent) were labelled by the reagents; (3) Ki-67 and PC10 stained a similar ratio of neoplastic cells in 65 and 76 per cent of NHL and HD cases, respectively; in the remaining instances, no correspondence was observed, the PC10-positive elements usually outnumbering the Ki-67-positive ones significantly. These discrepancies, which might be due to low PCNA catabolism and/or PCNA expression by quiescent cells, underline the need for further kinetic and clinico-pathologic studies in order to define the specific relevance of PC10.
Sabattini
E
E
Haemolymphopathology Section, Bologna University, Italy.
Gerdes
J
J
Gherlinzoni
F
F
Poggi
S
S
Zucchini
L
L
Melilli
G
G
Grigioni
F
F
Del Vecchio
M T
MT
Leoncini
L
L
Falini
B
B
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology*; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000276:immunology; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen