The significance of intracytoplasmic proteins in Reed-Sternberg cells

Abstract

Lymphoid tissue of 42 patients with Hodgkin's disease was studied with immunohistological techniques on the light microscopic and ultrastructural level. The presence of IgG in some Reed-Sternberg (R-S) cells was confirmed, and in addition serial sections and a double staining technique revealed that these cells also contained both kappa and lambda light chains. Furthermore two serum proteins, human serum albumin and alpha-1-antitrypsin, were demonstrated in the same positive R-S cells. The ultrastructural localization of the immunoglobulin and of human serum albumin was not related to any protein synthesizing organelle or to structures related to endocytosis. It is suggested that the presence of immunoglobulin in R-S cells is the result of a disturbance of the cell wall integrity with subsequent nonspecific diffusion of immunoglobulin and other serum proteins into the cell. The presence of IgG therefore can not be taken as an argument for a B-cell origin of R-S cells. Possible mechanisms for the cell wall damage are discussed.