Expressions of CXCR3 and CD1a in lesions of mycosis fungoides at tumor and non-tumor stages

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expressions of CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) and CD1a in skin lesions of different stages of mycosis fungoides (MF). Methods The expression and distribution profiles of CD1a and CXCR3 were detected by immunohistochemistry in the epidermis of skin samples from 16 normal human controls, 16 patients with non-tumor (patch/plaque) stage MF and 8 patients with tumor stage MF. Results With the progression of MF from patch/plaque stage to tumor stage, the positivity rate of CXCR3 in intraepithelial neoplastic cells in lesions dropped from 38.9% to 17.5% (P ＜ 0.05). The average number of intraepithelial Langerhans cells (LCs) per high power field (HPF) in skin samples was 10.6 in patch/plaque stage MF, significantly higher than that in normal control (7.3) and tumor stage MF (6.7), while no significant difference was found between normal control and tumor stage MF specimens. Conclusion The epidermotropism in MF may be associated with the expression of T-helper (Th) 1-associated chemokine receptor (CXCR3) and quantity of intraepithelial LCs. Key words: Mycosis fungoides; Lymphoma, T-cell; Receptors, chemokine; Langerhans cells