[Gene rearrangement and p53 expression in defining the nature of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate gene rearrangement and p53 expression in defining the nature of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy.


METHODS
DNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of 44 angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy (AIL) patients and analyzed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for IgH and TCRgamma gene rearrangement. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to detect p53 protein expression. Thirty-five cases were followed-up.


RESULTS
12 out of 44 cases (27.3%) showed TCRgamma gene rearrangement and 2 (4.5%) showed IgH gene rearrangement. Rearrangement of both IgH and TCRgamma genes were detected in 2 cases (4.5%). 14 cases (31.8%) showed p53 positive expression, among which 12 showed positive rearrangement and 2 showed negative (P < 0.01). Eight out of 11 patients of positive gene rearrangement died in one year, while only 3 patients were still alive at the eighteenth month of follow-up, three of 24 patients of negative gene rearrangement were found dead at the time of the one year follow-up, while the rest 21 patients were alive and the longest survival time was 96 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Gene rearrangement can define the pathological nature of AIL. The expression of p53 is highly related to gene rearrangement, and thus an important immunological marker in research on AIL.
Zhao
P
P
Department of Pathology, The Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College, Qingdao 266003, Shandong Province, China.
Ji
X
X
Zhang
H
H
Jiang
T
T
Sun
X
X
D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D015334:Gene Rearrangement, gamma-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007119:Immunoblastic Lymphadenopathy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D011379:Prognosis; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*
D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53