Background: Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) is characterised by an ineffective immune response that is predominantly mediated by CD4(+) T-cells. Aims: To analyse the expression of the key regulatory T-cell transcription factors (TFs) in the T-cells of HL involved tissues in order to assess the nature of the T-H immune response in HL. Methods and results: By immunohistochemistry, GATA3 was strongly and T-bet exclusively expressed in a subset of interfollicular lymphocytes in the reactive lymphoid tissues. In classical HL (CHL), which is generally located in the interfollicular zones, a predominance...

BACKGROUND: Laser microdissection microscopy has become a rising tool to assess gene expression profiles of pure cell populations. Given the low yield of RNA, a second round of amplification is usually mandatory to yield sufficient amplified-RNA for microarray approaches. Since amplification induces truncation of RNA molecules, we studied the impact of a second round of amplification on identification of differentially expressed genes in relation to the probe – poly(A)-tail distances. RESULTS: Disagreement was observed between gene expression profiles acquired after a second round of amplification compared to a...

Purpose The neoplastic Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg ( HRS) cells in classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma ( cHL) are derived from B cells. The frequency of HLA class II downregulation and its effect on prognosis are unknown. Patients and Methods Immunohistochemistry results for HLA class II were evaluated in 292 primary cHL patients in a population-based approach. Patients were diagnosed between 1989 and 2000 in the northern part of the Netherlands. Median age at diagnosis was 38 years ( range, 8 to 88 years); 63% had Ann Arbor stage I or II,...

Background: Changes in epithelial cell interactions have been implicated in carcinogenesis, tumour invasion and metastasis. Aim: To screen for altered expression of epithelial adhesion genes in lung cancer development. Methods: Gene expression profiles were assessed with cDNA expression arrays in eight non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and eight normal bronchi obtained from the same patient. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and RNA in situ hybridisation (ISH) were used to confirm the most prominently expressed adhesion molecules and to investigate their distribution at protein and mRNA levels. Results: 43 differentially expressed cancer-related...

BIC is a primary microRNA (pri-miR-155) that can be processed to mature miR-155. In this study, we show the crucial involvement of protein kinase C (PKC) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) in the regulation of BIC expression upon B-cell receptor triggering. Surprisingly, Northern blot analysis did not reveal any miR-155 expression upon induction of BIC expression in the Burkitt lymphoma-derived Ramos cell line, whereas other microRNAs were clearly detectable. Ectopic expression of BIC in Ramos and HEK293 cells resulted in miR-155 expression in HEK293, but not in...