High endothelial venules and cell adhesion molecules in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and related low grade B-cell lymphoma leu kaemia II...

Abstract

The expression of cell adhesion molecules (LECAM-1, LFA-1, VLA-4, ICAM-1 and CD44) of lymph nodes from B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL; mature: 16 cases, immature: 8), lymphocytic lymphoma (LL; M:5, IM:2) and reactive lymph nodes (10) were investigated in frozen tissue sections. In order to assess the B- and T-cell compartments of the lymph nodes some additional markers CD3, CD20, CD45 RO were used, and for follicular dendritic reticulum cells (FDCs) CD35. The expression of the LECAM-1 molecule was correlated to the expression of activation (CD23, CD25) and proliferation (Ki67) markers. Findings, in accordance with the relevant data of the literature, indicate that B-CLL and LL show and identical adhesion profile to the mantle zone of the germitial centres of reactive lymph nodes; narnely, they were CD44+/LECAM- I+/VLA-4+. The T-zones of the reactive lymph nodes were characterized by an LFA-lf and the follicles by an ICAM-I+ pattern. while in B-CLL and LL cases the LFA-I+ and ICAM- I + were detected without coexpression of these molecules in only a small ii~imber of cases. The ratio and location of CD3+ and LFA-I+ cells was very similar in lyinph nodes from B-CLL and LL, and from this fact may arise the suspicion that LFA-I+ reported in LL cases derive from the sometimes significant T-cell compartment of the diseased lyrnph nodes. The LECAM-I molecule did not show any correlation with the investigated activation/proliferation markers.