Analysis of Survivin Expression in the Subtypes of Lymphoma

Abstract

It is difficult to diagnose and classify lymphoma in clinical pathology. This study was designed to examine the expression of survivin, an important anti-apoptosis gene, in subtypes of lymphoma,and to investigate its value in classification of lymphoma. Biopsies from 83 cases of lymphoma and 5 cases of lymph node reactive proliferation were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital and Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2001 to June 2003. Reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expression of survivin. In addition, the survivin expression in four tumor cell lines (K562, HL60, Raji, and Jurkat cell line) were also determined by RT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining. Semi-quantity assay was used to evaluate the quantity of survivin protein and mRNA expression in subtypes of lymphoma. Protein expression of survivin was high and strong in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBL) (87.2%,34/39), Burkitt lymphoma (BL) (100%,2/2), and lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) (85.7%,6/7), while their expression were lower and weaker in follicular lymphoma (FL)(22.2%), extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) (33.3%), and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL)(40.0%). There exist a significant difference between the higher expression group (DLBL, BL, and LBL) and lower one (FL, MZL, and MALT) in expression of survivin. Chi-square test,Chi(2)=24.77,P< 0.01. Furthermore, survivin protein expression level in older patients (media age: 57-year old) with DLBL was higher than that in younger patients (media age: 41-year old). Almost all of Reed-Sternberg cells (R-S cells) in Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) showed strongly positive expression of survivin. The protein expression of survivin was positively correlated with mRNA (r=0.627 0,P< 0.01). The expression level of survivin mRNA and protein shows significant difference in subtypes of lymphoma,and it might be act as a biomarker to classify the subtypes of lymphoma.