IGE IMMUNOPATHOLOGIC FINDINGS IN HODGKINS-DISEASE

Serum IgE is the only immunoglobulin appreciably elevated in Hodgkin's disease. An immunofluorescent staining technique was applied to deparaffinized, trypsinized formalin-fixed tissue sections to detect mast cell membrane IgE deposits in Hodgkin's disease. Tandem sections were stained with toluidine blue. Positive IgE-stained mast cell membranes were seen in 64% of Hodgkin's disease patients. Brightly fluorescent stained germinal follicles were identified in 52% of Hodgkin's disease patients. Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with few exceptions did not appreciably display mast cell membrane or germinal follicle fluorescence. Immunohistopathologic studies reported here provide morphologic corroboration with the elevated IgE levels in serum reported previously. These findings bear relevance for some histopathologic features characteristic of Hodgkin's disease: IgE-activated mast cells are believed to influence fibrosis by release of (a) granule-mediators and (b) recruitment of eosinophilic leucocytes through the mast cell-leucocyte cytokine cascade.