Hodgkin's lymphoma associated T-cells exhibit a transcription factor profile consistent with distinct lymphoid compartments.
BACKGROUND
Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is characterised by an ineffective immune response that is predominantly mediated by CD4+ T-cells.


OBJECTIVE
To analyse the expression of the key regulatory T-cell transcription factors (TFs) in the T-cells of HL involved tissues in order to assess the nature of the T(H) immune response in HL.


RESULTS
By immunohistochemistry, GATA3 was strongly and T-bet exclusively expressed in a subset of interfollicular lymphocytes in the reactive lymphoid tissues. In classical HL (CHL), which is generally located in the interfollicular zones, a predominance of T-bet+ T-cells and lesser amounts of GATA3+ and c-Maf+ T-cells was found, concordant with the pattern of the normal interfollicular compartment. In reactive lymphoid tissues, c-Maf was observed mostly in T-lymphocytes within the germinal centres (GCs). Nodular lymphocyte predominance type of Hodgkin's lymphoma (NLPHL) and progressively transformed germinal centres cases, showed a majority of c-Maf+ T-cells, consistent with the pattern in normal GCs. NLPHL cases uniformly showed c-Maf+/CD57+ T-cell rosettes around the neoplastic cells; these rosettes were absent in "paragranuloma-type" T-cell/histiocyte rich B-cell lymphoma.


CONCLUSIONS
T-cell TF expression profiles of the reactive T-cells in both subtypes of HL are in accordance with the expression profile observed in the distinct lymphoid compartments.
Atayar
Cigdem
C
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Groningen and University Medical Centre Groningen, The Netherlands.
van den Berg
Anke
A
Blokzijl
Tjasso
T
Boot
Marcel
M
Gascoyne
Randy D
RD
Visser
Lydia
L
Poppema
Sibrand
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D050485:GABA Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000276:immunology; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051257:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-maf / Q000378:metabolism; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D000098815:T-bet Transcription Factor
D050485:GABA Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; C495607:MAF protein, human; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D051257:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-maf; C493416:SLC6A11 protein, human; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D000098815:T-bet Transcription Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors