TOX expression in cutaneous B-cell lymphomas

Thymocyte selection-associated high-mobility group box (TOX) is aberrantly expressed in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. In a recent study, TOX expression was noted unexpectedly in the follicle center (germinal center) B-cells of reactive lymph nodes and tonsils, used as external controls. To evaluate whether TOX is also expressed by cutaneous B-cell lymphomas, TOX immunohistochemistry was performed on skin biopsies of 44 patients with primary and secondary cutaneous B-cell proliferations. TOX was expressed not only in the reactive follicle center cells of lymph nodes, tonsils, cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasia, and primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphomas, but also by the neoplastic follicle center cells of 16/17 patients with primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma (PCFCL) and 7/7 patients with cutaneous manifestations of systemic follicular lymphoma (FL). Notably, TOX showed a very similar expression pattern as BCL6, a marker of germinal center B-cells. In 4/10 patients with a BCL6(+) primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg type (PCDLBCL,LT) and in 2/2 patients with a secondary cutaneous BCL6(+) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), TOX was expressed by more than 50 % of the neoplastic B-cells. In contrast, in 3/3 BCL6(-) PCDLBCL,LT, TOX was completely negative or weakly expressed by a minor proportion of the neoplastic B-cells. In conclusion, TOX is expressed not only by neoplastic T-cells, but also by both reactive and neoplastic follicle center (germinal center) B-cells and a proportion of BCL6(+) PCDLBCL,LT and secondary cutaneous BCL6(+) DLBCL. The functional significance of TOX expression in reactive and neoplastic B-cells remains to be elucidated.