bcl-2 expression in Hodgkin's disease. Correlation with the t(14;18) translocation and Epstein-Barr virus.
In a prior study from our laboratory using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, the t(14;18)(q32;q21) translocation was detected in low copy number in 32% of Hodgkin's disease cases. The cell of origin of the t(14;18), however, was not determined. To further investigate the role of bcl-2 in Hodgkin's disease and the possibility that the translocation resides in Reed-Sternberg and Hodgkin's (RS-H) cells, we analyzed selected cases of Hodgkin's disease immunohistologically using a monoclonal antibody reactive with bcl-2. Because Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been reported to upregulate bcl-2 expression, we also used an in situ method for detecting EBV in these tissues. Thirteen cases of Hodgkin's disease were studied, including seven cases with the t(14;18) translocation and six cases without it, as determined by PCR in a prior study. bcl-2 protein was detected immunohistologically in the RS-H cells in eight cases: three with the t(14;18) translocation and five in which the translocation was not detected. EBV RNA was detected in the RS-H cells of four patients, including two in which the RS-H cells also were bcl-2 positive. The presence of bcl-2 staining of the RS-H cells in this series of cases did not correlate with clinical features, histologic subtype, the presence of the t(14;18) translocation, or EBV-positivity. The lack of consistent bcl-2 protein expression in RS-H cells, including EBV-positive RS-H cells, may suggest that the t(14;18) translocation does not reside in RS-H cells in at least a subset of cases of Hodgkin's disease. If this is true, the t(14;18) translocation may not play an important role in the pathogenesis of Hodgkin's disease.
Bhagat
S K
SK
Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Medeiros
L J
LJ
Weiss
L M
LM
Wang
J
J
Raffeld
M
M
Stetler-Stevenson
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002883:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 14; D002887:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics*; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D016539:Reed-Sternberg Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D014178:Translocation, Genetic
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D004279:DNA, Viral; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D012367:RNA, Viral