title: The Reed-Sternberg Cell, An Activated T-cell? The Evidence Has Come Full Circle.
abstract: The origin of the malignant Reed-Sternberg (RS) cell in the most common histologic types of Hodgkin's disease (HD) has been controversial. Early attempts to study RS-cells in vitro for T-cell characteristics were not fruitful. Recent studies with more sensitive immunohistochemical methods have revealed that RS-cells express T-lineage antigens in 25-60% of cases of all types of HD except nodular lymphocyte predominance which appears to be a B-cell disorder. All RS-cells express lymphocyte activation antigens. This insight should permit a more complete understanding of the histopathology, clinical features and ctiology of HD through an investigation of lymphokines, growth factors and viruses associated with activated T and B lymphocytes.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Kadin
keywords: Hodgkin's disease; Reed-Sternberg cells; T-cell antigens