title: Detection of T-regulatory cells has a potential role in the diagnosis of classical Hodgkin lymphoma.
abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated an increase in T-regulatory cells in the involved lymph nodes and peripheral blood of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma. Our study examined whether the detection of T-regulatory cells by flow cytometry could distinguish classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) from benign cases and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHL). We measured CD4, CD25, and CD152 in 14 CHLs, 2 nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphomas, 31 B-NHLs, and 54 benign cases. All T-regulatory cell parameters, including percent lymphocytes CD4+/CD152+ and CD4+/CD25+/CD152+, and mean and median CD152 expression in CD4+/CD25+ lymphocytes, were higher in CHL than in B-NHL and benign. Mean CD152 in CD4+/CD25+ lymphocytes distinguished CHL from benign with 79% sensitivity and 100% specificity, and from B-NHL with 71% sensitivity and 90% specificity. Overall, our results show that T-regulatory cells are increased in CHL and their detection may be a useful tool in differentiating CHL from other entities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Bosler
authors.forename: Vonda K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Douglas-Nikitin
authors.forename: Valerie N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Marc D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000276:immunology; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006105:Granulomatous Disease, Chronic / Q000276:immunology; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000276:immunology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen; C556706:CTLA4 protein, human; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit