Hodgkin lymphoma associated T-cells exhibit a transcription factor profile consistent with distinct lymphoid compartments

Abstract

Aims: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is characterized by an ineffective immune response that is predominantly mediated by CD4+ T-cells. We analyzed the expression of the key regulatory T-cell transcription factors (TFs) in the T-cells of HL involved tissues to assess the nature of the TH immune response in HL.

Methods and results: By immunohistochemistry, GATA3 strongly and T-bet was exclusively expressed in a subset of interfollicular lymphocytes in the reactive lymphoid tissues. In classical HL (cHL), that is generally located in the interfollicular zones, a predominance of T-bet+ T-cells and lesser amounts of GATA3+ and c-Maf+ T-cells was found, concordant with the pattern of the normal interfollicular compartment. In reactive lymphoid tissues, c-Maf was observed mostly in T-lymphocytes within the germinal centers (GCs). Nodular lymphocyte predominance type of Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) and progressively transformed germinal centres cases, showed a majority of c-Maf+ T-cells, consistent with the pattern in normal GCs. NLPHL cases uniformly showed c-Maf+/CD57+ T-cell rosettes around the neoplastic cells, whereas these rosettes were absent in 'Paragranuloma-type' T- cell/histiocyte rich B-cell lymphoma.

Conclusions: T-cell TF expression profiles of the reactive T-cells in both subtypes of HL are in accordance with the expression profile observed in the distinct lymphoid compartments