Demonstration of Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein and bcl-2 oncogene protein expression in Hodgkin' s disease

Abstract

To investigate the association of Hodgkin's disease (HD) with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in Turkish patients, we studied paraffin sections of tumor specimens from 49 cases for the expression of monoclonal antibody to the latent membrane protein (LMP1) of EBV using an immunohistochemical method. LMP1 expression was identified in 49% of our cases. Although EBV was detected in all age groups, histologic subtypes and clinical stages, EBV positivity was higher in older adults, and in mixed cellularity subtype. We have also studied the expression of bcl-2 oncogene protein in different subtypes of Hodgkin's disease using monoclonal antibody and also have investigated the association between bcl-2 expression and presence of EBV LMP1 immunoreactivity. Reed-Sternberg cells and variants were positive for bcl-2 in 15 of 39 cases (38%). In the background cells, distinct cytoplasmic reactivity was seen in small lymphocytes, especially in follicular mantle zones, but not in germinal center cells. Our data indicate no significant difference in the coexistence of bcl-2 expression in histologic subtypes and EBV positive and negative cases.