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β 2 ‐microglobulin expression of AIDS‐related and classical Kaposi's sarcoma
Author(s) -
PETERSEN BODIL LAUB,
PETERSEN CLAUS LETH,
JENSEN ANNETTE,
THOMSEN HENRIK KLEM,
WERDELIN OLE,
BRÆNDSTRUP OTTO
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1995.tb01405.x
Subject(s) - beta 2 microglobulin , sarcoma , kaposi's sarcoma , immunohistochemistry , human leukocyte antigen , pathology , antibody , staining , polyclonal antibodies , medicine , immunopathology , mhc class i , immunology , immune system , cancer research , biology , major histocompatibility complex , antigen , human herpesvirus
The expression of β 2 ‐microglobulin, the invariable light chain of HLA class I molecules, of Kaposi's sarcoma from 11 AIDS patients and from 11 patients without known immunodeficiency was studied by immunohistochemistry using a polyclonal antibody to β 2 ‐microglobulin. The staining intensity of spindle cells in these lesions was scored in a semiquantitative system. We found that the spindle cells of Kaposi's sarcomas from AIDS patients showed significantly increased staining intensity for β 2 ‐microglobulin compared to those of Kaposi's sarcomas from non‐AIDS patients. The results may indicate that Kaposi's sarcomas developing in immunocompromised individuals, such as AIDS patients, are not subject to immune selection by T cells eliminating HLA class I high‐expressing tumor cells, while this may be the case in non‐AIDS patients. Alternatively, the results may be caused by differences in the activity of cytokines, which upregulate the expression of HLA class I molecules on the cell surface.