Objective: To study the expression of CD44, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), vWF: Ag in normal lymphatic tissue and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and its implication.
Methods: Immunohistochemical assay was performed with a LSAB kit.
Results: 1. In normal lymphatic tissues, mature appearing small lymphocytes were positive for CD44, while proliferating immature lymphocytes in germinal center were negative. 2. High grade and intermediate grade NHL samples were strongly positive for CD44, the positive rate in the former was higher than in the latter (P < 0.05). In the ten low grade lymphoma samples, only two were weakly positive and, the rest were negative. The expression of PCNA showed the same manner as CD44. 3. The microvessels in NHL increased with the histological malignant grade.
Conclusion: The expression of CD44 in normal lymphatic tissues is different from that in NHL. Combination of CD44 expression with PCNA expression and microvessel density seems a reliable parameter for judging malignant degree of NHL.