MICROSATELLITE INSTABILITY IN KSHV HHV-8 POSITIVE BODY-CAVITY-BASED LYMPHOMA/

Body-cavity-based lymphoma (BCBL) is a rare non-Hodgkin-'s lymphoma (N HL) type growing in liquid phase in the body cavities. Virtually all B CBL associate with Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus/human herpe svirus type-8 infection in the absence of molecular alterations typica l of other NHL categories. Microsatellite instability (MSI), a specifi c variant of genomic instability frequently associated with human canc ers, has not been tested in BCBL thus far. In this report, we have ana lyzed the presence of MSI in the tumor cells of a male patient affecte d by AIDS-related BCBL. The genomic configuration of 12 distinct micro satellite loci was investigated by polymerase chain reaction amplifica tion of DNA obtained from the patient's tumor cells and from autologou s peripheral blood mononuclear cells. MSI was observed at 4/12 microsa tellite repeats tested. Absence of the germline allele at one microsat ellite locus mapping to chromosome X indicates that, in this BCBL case , MSI represents a clonal genetic lesion affecting virtually all tumor cells. These data suggest that MSI may be potentially involved in the pathogenesis of AIDS-related BCBL. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. Saunder s Company.