Expression of ss-tubulin isotypes in classical Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

Microtubules consist of heterodimers of a- and b-tubulin. Aberrant expression of specific b-tubulin isotype is associated with resistance to chemotherapy in malignant tumors. In this study, we examined the expressions of b-tubulin isotypes in classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL) by immunohistochemistry. Among the b-tubulin isotypes, class II b-tubulin (31/34, 91%) was most frequently overexpressed in the cytoplasm of almost all Hodgkin's and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells, followed by class I b-tubulin (18/34, 53%) and class III b-tubulin (12/34, 35%). Class IV b-tubulin was not expressed in any cHL case. Class I b-tubulin was expressed in the background lymphoid cells as well as the HRS cells. Thus, our results indicate that class II b-tubulin may be very useful for immunohistochemical diagnosis of cHL, and provide valuable information for the potential application of b-tubulin isotype-specific targeting.