Morphologically normal, CD30-negative B-lymphocytes with chromosome aberrations in classical Hodgkin's disease: the progenitor cell of the malignant clone?

• Published in: The Journal of pathology Vol. 189; no. 4; pp. 527 - 532
• Main Authors: Jansen, Maurice P. H. M., Hopman, Anton H. N., Bot, Fredrik J., Haesevoets, Annick, Stevens-Kroef, Marian J. P. L., Arends, Jan Willem, Jox, Andrea, Wolf, Jürgen, Ramaekers, Frans C. S., Schouten, Harry C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-12-1999; Wiley
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; B cells; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; B-Lymphocytes - pathology; Biological and medical sciences; Chromosome Aberrations; Genotype; Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases; Hodgkin Disease - genetics; Hodgkin Disease - immunology; Hodgkin Disease - pathology; Hodgkin's disease; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; In Situ Hybridization; Ki-1 Antigen; Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis; Male; Medical sciences; Neoplastic Stem Cells - immunology; Neoplastic Stem Cells - pathology; Phenotype; progenitor cell; Reed-Sternberg Cells - immunology; Reed-Sternberg Cells - pathology; Chromosomal aberration; Human; Immunohistochemistry; In situ; Histiogenesis; Hodgkin disease; Malignant hemopathy; B-Lymphocyte; Hybridization; Lymphoma; Sternberg cell; Pathology; Lymphoproliferative syndrome; Molecular biology; Progenitor cell
• ISSN: 0022-3417; 1096-9896
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9896(199912)189:4<527::AID-PATH488>3.0.CO;2-N

A recent study observed that numerical chromosome abnormalities in Hodgkin's disease (HD) are detected not only in morphologically abnormal Hodgkin/Reed–Sternberg cells, but also in a fraction of morphologically normal cells. However, the phenotypic constitution of these genetically abnormal, morphologically normal cells and their relationship to the malignant Hodgkin/Reed–Sternberg cells could not be established in the earlier cases studied, because of the low frequency of these cells. The present study investigated two cases of classical Hodgkin's disease containing a relatively large population of such apparently normal cells with aberrant chromosome copy numbers. The phenotype and their position within the developmental route of the malignant compartment were examined by a combined in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry approach. Numerical abnormalities for chromosome 1 in one case and for chromosomes X, Y, and 1 in the other case were observed not only in CD30‐positive Hodgkin/Reed–Sternberg cells, but also in CD30‐negative, morphologically normal cells. It was shown that these genetically aberrant cells expressed the B‐cell antigen CD19, thus confirming their B‐cell nature. These studies indicate a relationship between the genome aberrations in these genetically abnormal, morphologically normal B‐cells and the Hodgkin/Reed–Sternberg cells, suggesting that they are progenitor cells of the malignant cell fraction. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.