Glucose-6-phosphatase activity of Reed-Sternberg and Hodgkin cells

The glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) enzyme cytochemical reaction was successfully applied on lymph node imprints, after introducing the appropriate modifications related to fixation and to composition of the substrate solutions. Using this method we studied the G-6-Pase cytochemical profile on lymph node imprint preparations from 30 patients with Hodgkin's disease. Three cases had the histologic subtype of lymphocyte predominance, 14 the modular sclerosis, 11 the mixed cellularity and two the lymphocyte depleted. A strong G-6-Pase positivity was found in the Reed-Sternberg (RS) and Hodgkin cells of the mixed cellularity type, while the RS and Hodgkin cells of the other subtypes were less positive. The rest of the cell population present were G-6-Pase negative, with the exception of plasma cells which exhibited a strong G-6-Pase cytoplasmic positivity. We concluded from our study that RS and Hodgkin cells resemblance to plasma cells and therefore they may be of B-cell origin. In addition it appears that RS and Hodgkin cells express different functional properties in the various histologic subtypes of the disease.