Expression of enolases in B cell tumors
Oka, K.; Mori, N.; Haimoto, H.; Kato, K.
Laboratory Investigation; A Journal of Technical Methods and Pathology 60(1): 38-44
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0023-6837 PMID: 2642988 Document Number: 346992
Frozen lymph node biopsy specimens from 38 patients with B cell tumors, including 5 with childhood non-T-ALL and 3 with reactive lymphadenitis, were investigated using a direct immunohistochemical method to detect .alpha.-, .beta.- and .gamma.-enolases. .alpha.-Enolase-positive cells were not observed in reactive lymphadenitis. On the contrary, almost all the lymphocytes including germinal center cells were positive for .beta.-enolase. Small lymphocytes in the mantle zone were negative, centrocytes were negative or weakly positive, the majority of centroblasts were strongly positive and the remaining were weakly positive for .gamma.-enolase. In all 5 patients with childhood non-T-ALL, leukemic lymphocytes were strongly positive only for .alpha.-enolase. In all 33 patients with B cell lymphoma, lymphoma cells were positive for .beta.-enolase. In many patients with follicular lymphoma, lymphoma cells were positive only for .beta.-enolase. Four of five patients with malignant lymphoma, diffuse, small cleaved cell, showed the reactivity of .alpha.-, .beta.+, .gamma.+-enolases in lymphoma cells. Our results suggest the possibility of the two isoenzyme switches from .alpha.- to .beta.-enolase and from .alpha.- to .gamma.-enolase in the B lymphocyte lineage accompanying differentiation, similar to those of skeletal muscles and neurons.