[Detection of IgH gene rearrangement in Reed-Sternberg cells microdissected from classical Hodgkin's lymphoma].

Objective: To study the origins and clonality of Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (H/RS) cells and their relations with the background lymphocytes in classical Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Method: IgH gene rearrangement was detected in paffin-embedded tissues from 33 patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma and a further analysis of the gene rearrangement was conducted in 6 of the positive cases identified after immunostaining of the sections with B-cell-specific activator protein (BSAP) followed by microdissection of the positivity labeled H/RS cells and background lymphocytes.

Results: IgH gene rearrangement was identified in 16 of the 33 cases. Microdissection of the lymphoma tissues was successfully performed in the 6 positive cases, and of the 19 tubes of H/RS cells obtained, 14 presented clonal bands of the rearrangement, and difference in cell numbers did not significantly influence the positive rate (P=0.290); in the 12 tubes of microdissected background lymphocytes obtained, 2 were positive for the rearrangement, and the positive rates for the rearrangement significantly differed between H/RS cells and the background lymphocytes (P=0.002).

Conclusion: The results appear to support the hypothesis that H/RS cells originates from B cells, and a part of the background lymphocytes may possess neoplastic proliferation potentials to function as the precursors of H/RS cells.