Correlation of BAG-3 and heat shock protein 70 with CD30 expression in T-cell lymphomas

T-cell lymphomas are aggressive lymphomas with decreased prognosis and resistance to therapy. BAG-3 and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) function in chemotherapeutic resistance and cellular survival. Expression of BAG-3 has not been investigated in T cell lymphomas. We investigated fifty cases including benign, systemic and cutaneous T cell lymphomas. Benign T cells were negative for BAG-3 and HSP70 immunohistochemical staining. BAG-3 expression correlated with increased HSP70 expression in a subset of systemic T cell lymphoma cases co-expressing the CD30 antigen. Correlation between BAG-3, HSP70 and CD30 expression was not seen in cutaneous T cell lymphoma cases. However, these cases showed a significant increase in BAG-3 staining when compared to CD30 negative systemic T cell lymphoma cases. The differential protein expression profile of BAG-3 and HSP70 may indicate a specific role for these proteins and the ubiquitin-proteasome system/autophagy in T cell lymphomas which may help guide future targeted therapy.