Frequent detection of Epstein-Barr virus-infected B cells in peripheral T-cell lymphomas

• Published in: The Journal of pathology 1998-05, Vol.185 (1), p.79-85
• Main Authors: Ho, Joanna W. Y., Ho, Faith C. S., Chan, Alexander C. L., Liang, Raymond H. S., Srivastava, Gopesh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: B-Lymphocytes - virology; Biological and medical sciences; clonality; Clone Cells; double labelling; Epstein-Barr virus; gene rearrangement; Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte; Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases; Herpesviridae Infections - complications; Herpesvirus 4, Human - isolation & purification; Humans; Immunophenotyping; In Situ Hybridization; Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral - complications; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral - genetics; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral - virology; Medical sciences; peripheral T-cell lymphomas; Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Viral - analysis; Tropical medicine; Tumor Virus Infections - complications
• ISSN: 0022-3417; 1096-9896
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9896(199805)185:1<79::AID-PATH52>3.0.CO;2-3

Although Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) positivity has been described in peripheral T‐cell lymphomas (PTCLs) in Chinese patients, the cellular lineage of EBV‐harbouring cells is unknown. Forty‐four cases of PTCL were therefore studied by in situhybridization (ISH) for EBV‐encoded small non‐polyadenylated RNA 1 and 2 (EBER), and the lineage of the EBER+ cells was determined by double labelling. The findings were further correlated with the clonality of EBV and the genotype of these EBER+ tumours. The results for the detection of EBV by ISH show that 23 of the 44 cases were EBER+. In 5/23 of the EBER+ cases, EBER was found in around 50 per cent of atypical cells and in 18/23 cases, EBER was found in a subpopulation of atypical cells. Amongst the EBER+ cases, all 15 tested showed clonal T‐cell receptor gene rearrangement by Southern blot hybridization. Double labelling was successfully done in 11 EBER+ cases, and by comparison, EBER+/CD20+ B cells outnumbered the EBER+/CD3+ T cells in all these cases. EBV clonality analysis revealed that EBV was monoclonal in six EBER+ cases and biclonal in three cases. With the predominance of EBV+ B cells over EBV+ neoplastic T cells being observed in most of these cases, it is possible that the EBV‐infected clonal population may be of B‐cell lineage. This was supported in some cases where a faint clonal band was seen over a background smear in the gene rearrangement study of immunoglobulin heavy chain gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), indicating a minor B‐cell clone. It is concluded that in EBV+ PTCL, EBV is preferentially localized in B cells rather than neoplastic T cells. The neoplastic T cells may support the clonal proliferation of a subpopulation of EBV+ B cells in PTCLs. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.