Using fluorescence-based human androgen receptor gene assay to analyze theclonality of microdissected dendritic cell tumors

The clonality of dendritic cell proliferations arising in patients with pre viously diagnosed B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma has not been determined The h ighly polymorphic human androgen receptor gene (HUMARA) can be used to asse ss the pattern of X-chromosome inactivation and, hence, the clonality of tu mors in female patients. In this study, specimens from 2 female patients wi th dendritic cell tumor following low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma wer e analyzed. Microdissection was performed on tissue sections to obtain repr esentative tissues for analysis. The HUMARA polymerase chain reaction was m odified to include a fluorochrome (6-carboxyfluorescein)-labeled primer so the product could be assessed with the ABI Genescan Analysis program for th e Macintosh (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif). Our results indicate that dendritic cell proliferations associated with low-grade B-cell non-Hod gkin lymphoma are clonal lesions. Previous microdissection is very helpful in obtaining the desired cell populations for study. The use of a fluoresce nt primer coupled with the Genescan System is a novel, highly sensitive, qu antitative system that avoids the use of radioactive materials.