Adhesion to high endothelial venules: a model for dissemination mechanisms in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

The interaction of human lymphoma cells with high endothelial venules (HEVs) on sections of lymphatic tissues was studied in 44 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) with the in vitro HEV binding assay. The relative adherence ratio (RAR) of lymphoma cells to HEVs as related to that of reactive lymphocytes was 0.29 to 4.64 in 38 cases of B chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), 1.15 and 1.54 in two cases of immunocytic NHL, 1.12 and 0.70 in two cases of centrocytic NHL, 1.98 in one case of a peripheral T-NHL, whereas plasma cell leukemia cells adhered very weakly (RAR 0.1). Among the patients suffering from CLL a pronounced HEV binding ability of tumor cells correlated significantly with the more unfavorable Binet stages B and C (median 1.32) as well as with a widespread lymphatic dissemination, which strongly indicates a hematogenous, HEV-mediated spread (median 1.34). In contrast, weak adherence to HEVs was associated with Binet stage A (median 0.85; P < .05) and with a lacking or only localized clinical involvement of lymph nodes (median 0.84; P < .01). Thus, specific HEV recognition processes even operate in lymphoid neoplasms and via this mechanism seem to influence the dissemination of tumors.