CD8(+) T cells in Hodgkin's disease tumor tissue are a polyclonal population with limited clonal expansion but little evidence of selection by antigen

A minor component (about 25%) of lymphocytes in Hodgkin's disease (IID) are CD8(+) T cells. It is unclear whether the presence of these cells reflects an. antitumor cytotoxic response. The goal of the present study was to inv estigate clonal composition and the T cell receptor (TCR) beta repertoire o f the CD8+ T cell population ill IID, Single CD8(+) cells were micromanipul ated from frozen tissue sections of lymph nodes affected by primary ND and subjected to single target amplification of TCR beta gene rearrangements. S equence analysis of the V region genes revealed the presence of expanded CD 8(+) T cell clones in all three cases analyzed. Most of these clonal expans ions accounted for less than 10% of the CD8(+) T cell population. In one ca se, 30% of the CD8(+) T cells belonged to one or two clones. Comparison of V region sequences, however, did trot provide evidence that the micromanipu lated CD8(+) cells were sampled from a population that was selected for par ticular antigen specificities, No obvious biases in TCR V beta and J beta g ene segment usage or CDR3 length distribution were found. Similarities of C DR3 amino acid sequences as found In selected CDR3 structures were rare. Th ese results suggest that, like CD4(+) T cells, CD8(+) T cells may also be r ecruited into the tumor tissue in an antigen-nonspecific manner.