Open AccessPB2064 USE OF RNASCOPE TECHNOLOGY TO DETERMINE STAT‐3 EXPRESSION IN HUMAN DIFFUSE LARGE B‐CELL LYMPHOMA
Author(s) -
Tamma R.,
Gaudio F.,
Ingravallo G.,
Albano F.,
Perrone T.,
Annese T.,
Ruggieri S.,
Maiorano E.,
Specchia G.,
Ribatti D.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
hemasphere
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 11
ISSN - 2572-9241
DOI - 10.1097/01.hs9.0000566744.87922.86
Subject(s) - diffuse large b cell lymphoma , lymphoma , stat3 , cancer research , germinal center , pathology , medicine , angiogenesis , immunofluorescence , biology , oncology , b cell , immunology , antibody , gene , biochemistry
Background: Diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common and one of the most heterogeneous lymphomas. Therefore, it is critical to further stratify cases of DLBCL into biologically similar and clinically meaningful subgroups, which will not only guide prognostic assessment and facilitate therapeutic decisions, but also stimulate further research to understand the pathogenesis and develop potential novel treatments. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor that exerts important biological functions related to cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, angiogenesis and immune response. Aims: In this study, we used RNAscope technology in order to evaluate STAT3 RNA expression in human DLBCL in selected groups of activated B‐cell–like DLBCL (ABC‐DLBCL) patients and germinal center B‐cell–like DLBCL (GBC‐DLBCL) patients. Methods This retrospective study reviewed data from patients diagnosed with DLBCL collected from the archive of the Section of Pathology of the University of Bari, Hospital Policlinico, Bari, Italy, between 2009 and 2013. All patients had pathologically confirmed DLBCL. Tumors were divided into two histological subgroups: one that includes ABC patients and another that includes GCB patients. Results: The results have shown that ABC DLBCL tissue samples contained more STAT3‐positive cells as compared with GCB tissue samples. Moreover, the immunofluorescence analysis showed that tumor vessels in ABC samples appeared lined by endothelial cells expressing both FVIII and STAT3 signals, while in GCB samples, only few vessels expressed both FVIII and STAT3. These data confirm other reports showing that STAT3 is highly expressed and activated in ABC‐DLBCL samples and the tumor vessels appeared lined by endothelial cells expressing both FVIII and STAT3. Summary/Conclusion: An improved understanding of tumor biology and the role of the tumor microenvironment has led to advances in the diagnosis, classification, prognostics, as well as novel treatments of patients with hematologic malignancies. Ongoing dynamic and correlation studies of tumor biology and the contribution of the tumor microenvironment should be promoted in the context of novel drug development in order to identify optimal therapies for various lymphomas, and improve the curability of these diseases.