Expression of the human peripheral lymph node homing receptor (LECAM-1) in nodal and gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Lymphocyte migration to lymphoid organs involves tissue-specific homing receptors. A lectin-like surface glycoprotein of 80 kD, the LECAM-1 (LAM-1, Leu-8) antigen, has recently been shown to represent the human equivalent of the mouse peripheral lymph node homing receptor MEL-14. In this study, the expression of LECAM-1 was examined in 116 nodal and 53 gastrointestinal (GI) non-Hogdkin's lymphomas (NHL). This analysis revealed that whereas the majority of nodal lymphomas expressed LECAM-1, this molecule was generally absent on GI lymphomas. This difference was present in each subclass of lymphomas but was most significant among diffuse large-cell lymphomas of the B-lineage (83 versus 23%, p less than 0.0001) and among T-cell lymphomas (89 versus 0%, p less than 0.0001) with a nodal versus GI tract localization. The strong correlation between LECAM-1 expression and the localization of the lymphomas supports the concept that tissue-specific homing receptors, i.e. LECAM-1, play a role in the dissemination of NHL.