Cell fusion is not involved in the generation of giant cells in the Hodgkin-Reed Sternberg cell line L1236.
The mechanism of multinucleated cell formation in Hodgkin's disease has not yet been elucidated. We asked whether the giant multinucleated cells of the H-RS cell line L1236 develop via fusion of the predominant smaller cells. As a positive control for the fusion assay, human B cells from the B-cell lymphoma cell line BJA-B were split into two fractions, stained with the fluorochromes CMTMR and CMFDA, respectively, and fused using the polyethylene glycol 1500 cell hybridization protocol. Double-stained cells indicating fusion of BJA-B cells were detectable for up to 5 days. In parallel, L1236 cells were split into two fractions, stained with the fluorochromes, and mixed. No double-stained L1236 cells were detected. The same result was obtained when using FACS-sorted small mononuclear L1236 cells. It is thus concluded that the large multinucleated cells of the monoclonal H-RS cell line L1236 have emerged by endomitosis rather than by spontaneous cell fusion.
University of Cologne, Department of Internal Medicine I, Joseph-Stelzmannstr. 9, 50924 Cologne, Germany.
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Benenson
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Beyer
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Gresch
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Draube
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Diehl
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Wolf
D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002459:Cell Fusion; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D015726:Giant Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D016539:Reed-Sternberg Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes