Different Epstein-Barr virus expression in lymphomas from immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients.

Eighteen tissue samples from lymphoproliferative lesions and lymphomas in immunodeficiency states were investigated for their content of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome by dot blotting and for the distribution of EBV in tissue sections by in situ hybridization. Fourteen lymphomas from AIDS patients and four children with disorders of the immune system were available. For control reasons, six cases of infectious mononucleosis (IM) and eight Burkitt's lymphomas (BL) from malaria-free regions of Africa were included in the study. Two different patterns of EBV distribution are described: 1) heterogeneous scattered EBV-positive cells, as originally seen in IM and therefore called the IM-type pattern, 2) and a BL-type pattern seen in endemic Burkitt's lymphoma with homogeneous EBV-positive cells all over the tumor. In lymphomas in patients with inborn immunodeficiencies, an IM-type pattern was found. In lymphomas from AIDS patients, the two different patterns were found. There were lymphomas with the IM-type pattern as well as some with the BL-type pattern. In some AIDS-associated lymphomas, both patterns occurred in one tumor. The findings suggest that it is not the disease process that is the distinguishing feature between the two patterns of EBV infection but rather the patient's underlying disease and the extent of this disease.