PHENOTYPE OF HODGKIN AND STERNBERG-REED CELLS AND EXPRESSION OF CD57 (LEU7) ANTIGEN

Possible associations between the immunophenotype of Hodgkin (H) and S ternberg-Reed (S-R) cells, the expression of CD57 (Leu 7) antigen, and the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) were investigated in lymph n ode specimens from 50 cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD), including 26 ca ses of mixed cellularity and 24 cases of nodular sclerosis. Tissues we re fixed in 10% neutral formalin, or/and B5 solution. H and S-R cells were CD30(+), CD15(+) (85% of the cases) and LCA (CD45). A proportion of neoplastic cells positive for either T-cell markers (CD3) or B-cell markers (CD20) was observed in 10% and 34% of the cases, respectively , Membrane positivity for CD57 antigen was found in H and S-R cells in 10 cases (8 cases of mixed cellularity, and 2 cases of nodular sclero sis). Such immunopositivity was only observed in B5-fixed sections. No staining for CD57 antigen was identified in H and S-R cells of any ca se with CD20 positive neoplastic cells. H and S-R cells of both CD57-p ositive and CD57-negative cases were further studied by immunohistoche mistry for LMP1, by in-situ hybridization for EBER and by polymerase c hain reaction (PCR) for EBV-DNA. No association was identified between the expression of CD57 antigen and the presence of EBV sequences, tra nscripts or proteins. Our findings do not support a B-cell origin for H and S-R cells in CD57-positive cases of Hodgkin's disease and sugges t that these neoplastic cells may be related to natural killer (NK) or T-cells expressing CD57 antigen.