Analysis of clonal antigen receptor gene rearrangements in T-cells involved with Kaposi's sarcoma.
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a multifocal neoplasm of unknown origin. All forms of KS are composed of spindle-shaped cells with elongated nuclei and sheets of endothelial-like cells. The proliferation of spindle cells is accompanied by the presence of an inflammatory infiltrate composed predominantly of T-cells. It has been suggested that this infiltrate might consist of a virally stimulated clonal population of T-lymphocytes which can produce growth factors initiating and substaining the proliferation of spindle-shaped cells. In this study we analyzed for clonal T-cell receptor gama gene rearrangements the T-cell populations present in the cutaneous infiltrate of seven cases of classical Kaposi's sarcoma using a polymerase chain reaction-based approach. Our data demonstrate the lack of a significant clonal population of T-cells in the cutaneous infiltrates of KS. This finding is indicative of a reactive polyclonal response of T-cells to the spindle-shaped cells and supports the contention that spindle-shaped cells are pathogenetically the central cell type in the disease. Our data also indicate that the anti-KS T-cell response, being polyclonal in nature, does not result from clonal expansion of T-cells targeting tumor-associated antigenic peptides.
Alaibac
M
M
Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, National Oncology Institute, Bari, Italy.
Congedo
M
M
Barbarossa
G
G
Bottiglieri
A
A
Fillippi
E D
ED
Marzullo
F
F
Quarta
G
G
Schittulli
F
F
D015334:Gene Rearrangement, gamma-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*