International Journal of Cell Cloning, Vol 10, 315-322, Copyright © 1992 by AlphaMed Press
Viral involvement in Hodgkin's disease
RF Jarrett
Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Glasgow Veterinary School, Bearsden, Scotland.
The etiology of Hodgkin's disease (HD) is unknown, but a growing body of
evidence suggests that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) plays a role in a
proportion of cases. Clonal EBV genomes have been detected in affected
tissues, and EBV has been localized to Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells, the
putative malignant cells in HD. EBV latent genes, including the EBER RNAs
and the latent membrane protein, LMP-1, are expressed by RS cells. These
data suggest that EBV is playing a role in the pathogenesis of HD; however,
it is clearly not involved in all cases. Using in situ hybridization, we
can detect EBV within the RS cells in approximately 40% of cases.
Epidemiological data suggest that HD is a heterogeneous condition and the
distribution of EBV-associated cases is not random. Studies from several
groups indicate that mixed cellularity cases are more likely to be
EBV-associated than nodular sclerosis cases. Our data further suggest that
the majority of pediatric and older cases of HD are EBV-associated, whereas
the RS cells in young adult cases only rarely harbor EBV. We therefore
speculate that another virus is responsible for the young adult peak in
incidence which is seen in developed countries.
