Morphologically normal, CD30-negative B-lymphocytes with chromosome aberrations in classical Hodgkin's disease: the progenitor cell of the malignant clone?
A recent study observed that numerical chromosome abnormalities in Hodgkin's disease (HD) are detected not only in morphologically abnormal Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells, but also in a fraction of morphologically normal cells. However, the phenotypic constitution of these genetically abnormal, morphologically normal cells and their relationship to the malignant Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells could not be established in the earlier cases studied, because of the low frequency of these cells. The present study investigated two cases of classical Hodgkin's disease containing a relatively large population of such apparently normal cells with aberrant chromosome copy numbers. The phenotype and their position within the developmental route of the malignant compartment were examined by a combined in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry approach. Numerical abnormalities for chromosome 1 in one case and for chromosomes X, Y, and 1 in the other case were observed not only in CD30-positive Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells, but also in CD30-negative, morphologically normal cells. It was shown that these genetically aberrant cells expressed the B-cell antigen CD19, thus confirming their B-cell nature. These studies indicate a relationship between the genome aberrations in these genetically abnormal, morphologically normal B-cells and the Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells, suggesting that they are progenitor cells of the malignant cell fraction.
Jansen
M P
MP
Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Hopman
A H
AH
Bot
F J
FJ
Haesevoets
A
A
Stevens-Kroef
M J
MJ
Arends
J W
JW
Jox
A
A
Wolf
J
J
Ramaekers
F C
FC
Schouten
H C
HC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D005838:Genotype; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D017730:Ki-1 Antigen; D008297:Male; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D010641:Phenotype; D016539:Reed-Sternberg Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*
D017730:Ki-1 Antigen