Expression of Tac antigen in B cell lymphomas

In a series of 55 cases of B cell derived non-Hodgkin's lymphoma the reactivity of two distinct anti-Tac monoclonal antibodies was examined using a sensitive immunoperoxidase technique on cryostat sections. Eighteen out of the thirty-five cases of B cell lymphomas of low or intermediate grade of malignancy were found to be reactive while six out of 20 cases of high-grade malignancy lymphomas showed a positive immunostaining. No correlation was found between anti-Tac reactivity and surface immunoglobulin phenotype, T65 antigen, or calla expression. These findings showed that IL2 receptor expression is not restricted to activated T cells, and raise the question of the possible role of IL2 in the regulation of malignant B cell clone expansion.