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CD44 deficiency is a consistent finding in childhood Burkitt's lymphoma and leukemia

Leukemia volume 21, pages 1110–1113 (2007)Cite this article

B-cell-derived non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of childhood and adolescence can be subdivided into mature B-cell neoplasms and B-cell precursor (BCP) lymphoblastic lymphomas (LBL). The former comprise Burkitt's lymphoma and leukemia, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma. With adequate therapy, about 80–90% of the patients with mature B-cell malignancies can now become long-term, disease-free survivors.1 However, the prognosis of children who suffer from a relapse is still very poor. In most therapy studies, risk stratification for mature B-cell NHL is largely based on stage of disease and the initial serum lactate dehydrogenase level.1 Moreover, to date, evaluation of minimal disseminated disease (MDD) at the time of diagnosis, that is in the bone marrow (BM) or peripheral blood, and of the kinetics of minimal residual disease (MRD) have not yet been implemented into the risk assignment of modern protocols. Nevertheless, as Burkitt's lymphoma is genetically characterized by the presence of a chromosomal translocation involving the C-MYC oncogene on chromosome 8 and one of the loci of the immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy- or light-chain genes on chromosomes 14, 22 or 2, the molecular fusion products have been explored in a few polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based studies to assess both minimal disseminated and residual diseases.2, 3 However, considering the long-time experience of different techniques on MRD analysis in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), it seems very likely that besides PCR-based examinations of disease-specific fusion genes or clone-specific Ig gene rearrangements, flow cytometry could also allow MDD and MRD detection in Burkitt's malignancies.4, 5

Recently, gene expression microarray analysis demonstrated that Burkitt's lymphoma displays a characteristic genetic signature.6, 7 It was found that CD44 is constantly downregulated on the mRNA level in Burkitt's lymphoma when compared with DLBCL patients. CD44 is a cell surface protein that is the principal receptor for hyaluronate, plays a pivotal role in cell adhesion and migration and is correlated to the metastatic potential of several hematological malignancies. We have shown previously that its level of expression increases with maturation of normal BCP cells in the BM.4 Sequential stages of BCP cells are usually assumed to correspond to the different subtypes of B-cell lymphoid malignancies of childhood. In particular, Burkitt's lymphoma/leukemia cells have many features in common with normal surface IgM+ BCP cells, which express high levels of CD44. Hence, we questioned whether the expression patterns of CD44 in normal BCP stages are also conserved in childhood Burkitt's lymphoma and leukemia or whether significant CD44 expression is lacking on the tumor cells as could be deduced from the microarray analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, St Anna Children's Hospital, Vienna, Austria

    A Attarbaschi, G Mann, O A Haas, H Gadner & M N Dworzak

  2. Children's Cancer Research Institute (CCRI), St Anna Children's Hospital, Vienna, Austria

    A Schumich, M König, O A Haas, H Gadner & M N Dworzak

  3. Institute of Immunology, CHMM (Center for Hygiene and Medical Microbiology), Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. E-mail: michael.dworzak@stanna.at,

    W F Pickl

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Attarbaschi, A., Mann, G., Schumich, A. et al. CD44 deficiency is a consistent finding in childhood Burkitt's lymphoma and leukemia. Leukemia 21, 1110–1113 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2404608

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