Alterations of the p53 gene in Epstein-Barr virus-associated immunodeficiency-related lymphomas

Mutations of the p53 tumor suppressor gene are among the most common genetic alterations found in many different human malignancies, including those of the colon, lung, and breast. Alterations in wild-type p53 lead to loss of the suppressor function and thus contribute to tumorigenesis. The potential role of p53 mutations in a sampling of B-cell lymphomas, the majority of which were associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), was investigated. Twenty-six biopsy specimens from immunocompromised patients, including allograft recipients and patients with AIDS, Wiscott-Aldrich syndrome, and human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 infection, in comparison with three Burkitt lymphomas and four Burkitt lymphoma cell lines were analyzed. Mutation in p53 was detected in all four Burkitt lymphoma cell lines as well as the three Burkitt lymphoma biopsy specimens. In patients with AIDS, 5 of 10 lymphomas were EBV positive, and 1 had a mutation in p53. Mutation in p53 was not detected in 14 EBV-positive lymphomas which arose in transplant recipients. These data indicate that with the exception of Burkitt lymphomas, p53 mutations are not involved in the majority EBV-positive B-cell lymphomas which develop in immunocompromised patients.