INTERLEUKIN-8 IN HODGKINS-DISEASE - PREFERENTIAL EXPRESSION BY REACTIVE CELLS AND ASSOCIATION WITH NEUTROPHIL DENSITY

Hodgkin's disease (HD) shows rare neoplastic Hodgkin and Reed-Sternber g cells embedded in an abundant reactive infiltrate containing, among other cell types, neutrophilic granulocytes, Interleukin (IL)-8 is che motactic for neutrophils, The expression of IL-8 was tested by in situ hybridization with S-35-labeled IL-8-specific RNA probes on 38 cases of HD. Reactive lesions, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of B and T phenotype, and Langerhans' cell histiocytosis served as controls, IL-8 expressio n was observed in Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells in 3 of 33 cases of classical HD and in reactive cells in 20 of 33 HD cases as evidenced by combined isotopic in situ hybridization and immunohistology for the demonstration of cell-type-characteristic antigens or enzyme histoche mistry for chloroacetate esterase. IL-8-positive cells were more numer ous in cases of nodular sclerosing no as compared with the mixed cellu larity histotype (P = 0.01). The number of IL-8-positive cells and the density of neutrophils were positively correlated (P < 0.01), In 5 ca ses of lymphocyte-predominant HD, IL-8 expression was not displayed. N on-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases contained IL-8 transcripts only in I of 23 cases in sparse reactive cells, In 4 of 7 cases of Langerhans' cell h istiocytosis, IL-8-specific signals were displayed in S100-negative ce lls, In conclusion, IL-8 expression in HD is largely confined to react ive cells and associated with infiltration by neutrophils. Elaboration of other cytokines by Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells and reactive c ells may explain the frequent expression of this cytokine in HD, parti cularly in the nodular sclerosing type.