Interleukin 13 and interleukin 13 receptor are frequently expressed by Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells of Hodgkin lymphoma

• Published in: Blood Vol. 97; no. 1; pp. 250 - 255
• Main Authors: Skinnider, Brian F., Elia, Andrew J., Gascoyne, Randy D., Trümper, Lorenz H., von Bonin, Frederike, Kapp, Ursula, Patterson, Bruce, Snow, Bryan E., Mak, Tak W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Elsevier Inc 01-01-2001; The Americain Society of Hematology
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; DNA - metabolism; Female; Gene Expression; Gene Library; Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases; Hodgkin Disease - etiology; Hodgkin Disease - genetics; Hodgkin Disease - pathology; Humans; In Situ Hybridization; Interleukin-13 - genetics; Interleukin-13 Receptor alpha1 Subunit; Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - genetics; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Receptors, Interleukin - genetics; Receptors, Interleukin - metabolism; Receptors, Interleukin-13; Reed-Sternberg Cells - chemistry; Reed-Sternberg Cells - metabolism; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Human; Pathophysiology; Lymphoproliferative syndrome; Cytokine; Hodgkin disease; Malignant hemopathy; Interleukin 13; Lymphoma; Sternberg cell; Tumor cell; Biological receptor
• ISSN: 0006-4971; 1528-0020
• DOI: 10.1182/blood.V97.1.250

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is characterized by the abnormal expression of multiple cytokines, accounting for its unique clinicopathologic features. We have previously shown that interleukin-13 (IL-13) is secreted by HL cell lines and may serve as an autocrine growth factor. To determine the frequency of IL-13 expression in lymphoma patients, tissue sections from 36 patients with classical HL, 5 patients with nodular lymphocyte predominance HL (NLPHL), and 23 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) were subjected to in situ hybridization. In 31 of 36 cases (86%) of classical HL patients of all histologic subtypes, between 25% to almost 100% of Hodgkin and Reed Sternberg (HRS) cells were positive for IL-13 expression. In contrast, in no case of NLPHL and in only 4 of 23 NHL cases (1 of 5 T-cell–rich B-cell lymphomas, 2 of 5 anaplastic large cell lymphomas, and 1 of 5 peripheral T-cell lymphomas) did the neoplastic cells express IL-13. The expression of the IL-13 receptor chain α1 (IL-13Rα1) was also analyzed by in situ hybridization. In 24 of 27 (89%) cases of classical HL, between 25% to 75% of HRS cells, as well as a high frequency of lymphocytes and histiocytes, were positive for IL-13Rα1 expression. These results were confirmed by the construction of complementary DNA libraries from single HRS cells, followed by polymerase chain reaction analysis, in which IL-13Rα1 transcripts were found to be present in all 6 cases of HL. These data indicate that expression of IL-13 and IL-13Rα1 is a common feature of HRS cells in HL, consistent with the hypothesis that IL-13 may play a role in autocrine growth in classical HL.