In vitro analysis of cell populations involved in Hodgkin's disease lesions and in the characteristic T cell immunodeficiency

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Abstract
Hodgkin's disease (HD) is an aggressive human lymphoproliferative disease that displays a curious pleomorphic histopathologic appearance unlike that of any of the common non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). Although the bizarre giant cells of the HD lesion, the Reed‐Sternberg cells (RSC) and mononuclear variant Hodgkin's cells (HC), have been considered to be malignant cells, little objective evidence supports this conclusion. We have studied the proliferative characteristics of T cell as well as RSC and HC‐enriched populations from HD lesions, and found the majority of the proliferative activity in the T cell populations. RSC‐enriched populations not only showed little spontaneous proliferation, but also did not respond to a variety of cytokine growth factors in vitro, suggesting that these cell populations are not actively growing cells. Further molecular studies to identify possible monoclonal T or B cell populations in HD lesions, using a TCR β chain probe and IgH probes respectively on Southern blot analysis, revealed no evidence of monoclonal lymphoid cell populations. Additional studies on the characteristic T cell immunodeficiency in HD were also undertaken. Our previous studies had associated a decrement in IL‐2 production with this defect. Our studies now show that an intrinsic T cell abnormality exists when HD patients' T cells are stimulated with agonistic MAb that can optimally activate and stimulate IL‐2 production in normal control T cells.