title: Expression of CD95 antigen and Bcl-2 protein in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and Hodgkin's disease.
abstract: CD95 (APO-1/Fas) is a member of the superfamily that includes the nerve growth factor and tumor necrosis factor receptors, OX40, CD27, CD30, and CD40. Present on a minority of resting blood lymphocytes, CD95 expression is upregulated on activated T and B lymphocytes and natural killer cells, where binding of the antigen by anti-Fas and anti-APO-1 antibodies has been shown to induce apoptosis. This CD95-mediated apoptosis is at least partially inhibited by expression of the Bcl-2 protooncogene. To evaluate possible roles of CD95 and Bcl-2 in growth regulation of lymphoid neoplasms, we studied by immunohistochemistry the expression of CD95 and Bcl-2 in 67 B- and 5 T-cell lymphomas, and 10 cases of Hodgkin's disease. In all, 29 B and 2 T cell lymphomas, and 9 cases of Hodgkin's disease expressed CD95. Compared with diffuse large B-cell and Burkitt-like lymphomas, lowgrade B-cell lymphomas more frequently expressed CD95 (52% versus 26%; P < .005). None of the B-cell small lymphocytic lymphomas or mantle cell lymphomas expressed CD95, whereas the majority of follicle center lymphomas, extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphomas, and immunocytomas were CD95+. Of the 29 CD95+ B-cell lymphomas, only 33% of the high-grade group coexpressed Bcl-2, compared with 87% of the low-grade group (P < .04). Two of three peripheral T-cell lymphomas--including one anaplastic large cell lymphoma--expressed CD95. Staining for CD95 was seen in 9 of 10 cases of Hodgkin's disease. The infrequent expression of CD95 in high-grade B-cell lymphomas suggests an association between loss of CD95 expression/function and a more aggressive tumor grade. Whereas frequent coexpression of Bcl-2 with CD95 may protect low-grade B-cell lymphomas against CD95-mediated apoptosis, in the high-grade group such coexpression is infrequent, and other regulators besides Bcl-2 may be involved in modulating the apoptosis signal delivered by CD95.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114, USA.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ritz
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Robertson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D019014:fas Receptor