The bcl-2/JH gene rearrangement is undetectable in Hodgkin's lymphomas: results from the German Hodgkin trial.

Ninety-one Hodgkin's lymphomas (HD), 52 non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) and 33 specimens of non-neoplastic lymphatic tissues were investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of the bcl-2/JH gene rearrangement. The majority of the HD cases were drawn from the files of the German Hodgkin trial where diagnoses are established by a panel of four independent histopathologists. Using the very sensitive PCR method which detected 1 positive among 10000 negative cells, the bcl-2/JH gene rearrangement was found in 7/52 NHL and 3/16 tonsils with follicular hyperplasia, but in none of the 91 HD.

In situ amplification of single copy gene segments in individual cells by the polymerase chain reaction.

A method is described using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify defined nucleic acid strands in individual cells in situ in conventional smears of bone marrow and peripheral cells. Using radioactively labeled precursors, the incorporation into newly synthesized strands by PCR can be detected by microautoradiography. The specificity of the method can be monitored by gel electrophoresis of the material shed into the reaction mixture.