APOPTOSIS IN HODGKINS-DISEASE

Previous studies have concentrated on the proliferative behaviour of t he neoplastic cell compartment in Hodgkin's disease (HD). The aim of t he current investigation was to analyse: the frequency of programmed c ell deaths in Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells in the different subtypes of HD and to correlate this phenomenon with the expression of the bcl-2 oncogene. For this purpose, we investigated paraffin-embedd ed material from 63 cases of HD. Oncogene expression was determined by immunohistochemistry with the monoclonal antibody bcl-2-124. The dete ction of apoptotic cells was facilitated by application of the in situ end-labelling (ISEL) technique. Our results confirmed that bcl-2 expr ession is low in the lymphocyte-predominant subtype of HD. Apoptotic c ells were found in all subtypes to a variable extent and were not sign ificantly associated with any particular subtype. Interestingly, there was no correlation of bcl-2 expression and the presence or absence of apoptotic HRS cells. Hence, other factors must be operative in the re gulation of programmed cell death in HD. Such mechanisms have been des cribed for lymphocytes under various conditions, such as negative sele ction in germinal centres and within the thymus, DNA damage due to irr adiation, and cellular cytotoxicity.