Aberrant expression of T cell and B cell markers in myelocyte/monocyte/histiocyte-derived lymphoma and leukemia cells. Is the infrequent expression of T/B cell markers sufficient to establish a lymphoid origin for Hodgkin's Reed-Sternberg cells?

Most Hodgkin's mononuclear cells and Reed-Sternberg (H-RS) cells are characterized by the expression of the antigen CD30, but not of T or B cell markers. A few H-RS cells, however, may express a limited number of T or B cell markers. Whether this expression is sufficient to allow the conclusion that H-RS cells are derived from T and/or B cells has been debated vigorously. The present study examined whether CD30 and aberrant T and B cell markers are expressed in cell lines that are well documented as being derived from the granulocyte/monocyte/histiocyte lineage. These cells included HL-60, KG-1, ML-1, THP-1, and U-937. Four other cell lines derived from patients with leukemias/lymphomas of monocytic or granulocytic origins also were studied. These cells included BV173, CML-Brown, CTV-2, and SU-DHL-1. If aberrant expression is detected, by analogy one may expect that rare T or B cell marker expression may occur in H-RS cells, because abundant evidence has indicated that H-RS cells may be related to cells in histiocyte lineage. In all nine of the cell lines studied, it was confirmed that numerous monocyte/granulocyte markers were expressed. The marker expression was enhanced after cells were induced to differentiate with phorbol ester (TPA) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). It was noted that several T and B cell markers also were expressed by these cells. Unlike the expression of monocyte/granulocyte markers, the expression of T or B cell markers was not affected, or only minimally affected, by treatment of the cells with TPA or TNF. Five of the cell lines (BV173, CML-Brown, CTV-2, SU-DHL-1, and THP-1) were shown to be CD30-positive. In CTV-2 and BV173, the expression of CD30 was greatly increased after induction with phorbol ester or TNF. Based on these studies, the following conclusions were reached: 1) The expression of aberrant B or T cell markers is not an uncommon finding in granulocyte/monocyte/histiocyte-related neoplastic cells. 2) The expression of granulocyte/monocyte markers in these cells is related to the state of cell differentiation, whereas the expression of T or B cell markers is not. 3) CD30 is not necessarily a proliferation-related antigen, and its expression is not a sole property of T or B cells, but can be present in granulocyte/monocyte/histiocyte-related cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)