Phenotypic attributes of the malignant cell population in Hodgkin's disease indicate a monocyte/macrophage origin

The cellular origin of the malignant cells in Hodgkin's disease (HD) has been discussed for several decades. Previous investigations on fresh biopsy material and cultured cells from lesions of Hodgkin's disease have led to various suggestions such as a T lymphocyte, B lymphocyte or monocyte/macrophage origin of HD cells. However, all these studies have been hampered by uncertainty in the identification of the truly malignant cells. It has therefore been desirable to establish in vitro lines of the malignant cell population in HD. A number of cell lines from HD lesions has been described, but most of these studies can, upon a critical appraisal, be dismissed as not being representative for Hodgkin's and Reed-Sternberg cells. We report on the phenotypes of established cell lines of Hodgkin's cells and conclude that it is most likely that the malignant Hodgkin's cells are derived from cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage.