EVALUATION OF CLONAL IMMUNOGLOBULIN HEAVY-CHAIN REARRANGEMENTS IN HODGKINS-DISEASE USING THE POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION (PCR)

We have correlated histologic type of Hodgkin's disease, degree of Hod gkin and Reed-Sternberg cell infiltration, percentage of Hodgkin and R eed-Sternberg cell positivity for latent membrane protein, immunopheno type of Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells, and immunoglobulin heavy cha in (IgH) gene rearrangements detected by polymerase chain reaction (PC R) in 56 unselected Hodgkin's disease cases, Two protocols were used f or amplification of IgH gene using Fr2 or Fr3 V-region primers, in con junction with nested primers directed to the JH region, PCR products w ere run on polyacrylamide gels, Immunohistochemical studies were perfo rmed on paraffin sections using monoclonal antibodies for CD20 and lat ent membrane protein, and polyclonal antibody to CD3, Using both prime r combinations we detected a definitive clonal band in 23.2% of the Ho dgkin's disease cases. Clonal IgH rearrangements were detected in 23.6 % of nodular sclerosis type and in 28,5% of mixed cellularity type, Us ing a highly sensitive method such as PCR, more than 20% of unselected cases of Hodgkin's disease were found to contain B-cell clonal prolif erations, but there was no correlation between histological and immuno logical parameters and molecular analysis results.