Cytokine expression in primary cutaneous germinal center cell lymphomas

Physiologically, B-lymphocytes are not present in the skin. Even in pathological situations they rarely occur. In contrast, primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas (CBCL) are characterized by proliferation of B lymphocytes within the skin. This suggests the existence of a certain microenvironment supporting homing and expansion of clonal B cells. Cytokines were demonstrated to be involved in the pathogenesis of cutaneous lymphomas of T-cell origin. Cytokine expression in cutaneous B-cell lymphoma lesions, however, has not been investigated so far. Therefore, the mRNA level of several cytokines was analyzed in biopsies from 7 patients with CBCL and compared to pleomorphic T-cell lymphoma (n = 6), psoriasis (n = 9), and healthy skin (n = 7), using a competitive RT-PCR approach. An overexpression of TNF-alpha, IL-10, and IL-6 was found. Enhanced IL-8 mRNA expression was detected in 2/7 cases. The overexpression of IL-6 and IL-10 in CBCL might be of particular importance, since these cytokines are considered to support B-cell growth. Additionally, the overexpression of IL-10 may contribute to tumor progression since this immunosuppressive cytokine might be involved in downregulation of immunological tumor surveillance, in part by inhibiting type 1 cytokine formation. In fact, we did not detect IFN-gamma and IL-2 expression. Taken together, we found a cytokine pattern in CBCL lesions which might contribute to tumor B-cell growth.