Quantitative cytology and cytochemistry of Hodgkin's tissue labelled in vivo with tritiated thymidine.

The cellular composition of Hodgkin's tissue from two patients has been examined. The labelling pattern with (3)H-TdR has been studied on in vivo labelled imprints and histological sections. The relative proportions of the various classes of cells are maintained when Hodgkin's tissue increases in bulk. Histological progression from LP/MC to MC Hodgkin's disease was associated with an increase in aneuploidy of the Hodgkin cell line and an increase in the proportion of large basophilic blast cells. Splenic Hodgkin's disease in the same patient contained fewer aneuploid cells. The significance of these findings in terms of the histogenesis of Hodgkin and Sternberg-Reed cells is discussed.