Human cytomegalovirus in neoplastic cells of Epstein-Barr virus negative Hodgkin's disease.
Although Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has been implicated in the development of a subset of Hodgkin's disease, the etiology of EBV-negative Hodgkin's disease remains to be determined. We investigated the status of human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) infection in 42 cases of Hodgkin's disease in a Chinese population. Using a nested polymerase chain reaction assay, nine of the 42 cases (21.4%) were found to contain EBV DNA. While only one of the nine EBV-positive cases demonstrated amplifiable hCMV DNA, approximately 33.3% of the EBV-negative cases (11/33) showed molecular evidence of hCMV infection (8 mixed cellularity; 2 nodular sclerosis; and 1 lymphocyte depletion). All 17 lymph nodes with non-specific reactive changes were negative for hCMV DNA. The presence of hCMV in Reed-Sternberg cells and their variants was further confirmed by single-cell polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis, which demonstrated ~50% amplified hCMV DNA. These results suggest for the first time that hCMV infection plays a potential role in signaling the cell transformation and pathogenesis of Hodgkin's disease, particularly in EBV-negative cases.
Huang
Gaosheng
G
Department of Pathology, XiJin Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, PR China. huanggs@fmmu.edu.cn
Yan
Qingguo
Q
Wang
Zhe
Z
Chen
Xiequn
X
Zhang
Xiaohui
X
Guo
Ying
Y
Li
Jian Jian
JJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000821:virology*; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016539:Reed-Sternberg Cells / Q000737:chemistry
D004279:DNA, Viral