Abstract
Background and Objective. Knowledge regarding the molecular pathogenesis and histogenesis of gastrointestinal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue non- Hodgkin's lymphomas (MALT-NHL) is limited. Mutations of BCL-6, a zinc finger transcription factor implicated in lymphoid development, occur frequently in lymphomas and represent a histogenetic marker of B-cell transit through the germinal center. The distribution of BCL-6 mutations in gastrointestinal MALT-NHL was analyzed in this study. Design and Methods. This study was based on 26 gastrointestinal MALT-NHL, including 16 cases of low grade histology and 10 cases of high grade histology. Mutations of BCL-6 were investigated by a combination of polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism and DNA direct sequencing analysis. Results. Mutations of BCL-6 occurred in 6/10 high grade MALT-NHL, whereas they were absent from all low grade cases tested (n = 16; p = 0.001). MALT-NHL harboring BCL-6 mutations included 5 cases of gastric MALT-NHL and 1 case of jejunal MALT-NHL. Mutations were predominantly represented by single nucleotide substitutions which were multiple in most cases. All sequence alterations were unique to individual cases of gastrointestinal MALT-NHL. Interpretation and Conclusions. Mutations of BCL-6 occur frequently in high grade gastrointestinal MALT-NHL and display characteristics similar to those of BCL-6 mutations harbored by other B-cell lymphomas. The association of high grade MALT-NHL with BCL-6 mutations corroborates their histogenetic derivation from germinal center-related B-cells and may be of potential pathogenetic relevance for these disorders.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 582-588 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Haematologica |
Volume | 84 |
Issue number | 7 |
Publication status | Published - Jul 1999 |
Keywords
- BCL-6
- Lymphoma
- Mucosa associated lymphoid tissue
- Mutation
- Proto- oncogene
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Hematology