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Expression and alteration of p16 in diffuse large B cell lymphoma
Ee-Soo Lee1, Lian-Hua Kim, Wan Ariffin Abdullah
1Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Summary
P16 protein overexpression is common in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and linked to specific subtypes. High P16 levels may reduce tumor cell proliferation, but gene gains don't always increase protein expression.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Immunohistochemistry
Background:
- Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Understanding the role of P16 protein in DLBCL pathogenesis is crucial for targeted therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate P16 protein expression in relation to DLBCL immunophenotypic subgroups and proliferation.
- To determine the correlation between p16 gene alterations and P16 protein overexpression in DLBCL.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemistry was used to assess P16, CD10, BCL-6, MUM-1, and Ki-67 expression.
- Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was utilized to detect p16 gene alterations (deletions and gains).
Main Results:
- P16 overexpression was observed in 45.7% of DLBCL cases, correlating with CD10 positivity and germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) phenotype.
- High P16 expression was inversely associated with high proliferative activity (Ki-67 > 75%).
- p16 deletions were found in 57.4% of cases with interpretable FISH results and were mutually exclusive with P16 overexpression; p16 gains showed no correlation with overexpression.
Conclusions:
- GCB and non-GCB DLBCL subgroups exhibit distinct P16 expression patterns.
- Elevated P16 levels may suppress tumor cell proliferation in DLBCL.
- p16 gene gains do not consistently lead to increased P16 protein expression.
