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Abstract
The current study attempts to characterize the eosinophilia associated with T-cell
lymphomas and to investigate its possible relationship with the secretion of eosinophil-stimulating
factors by lymphoma cells and/or intra-tumoral surrounding cells. Paraffin-embedded
specimens from 50 patients diagnosed with peripheral T-cell lymphomas, either unspecified
(PTCL-U, n=30) or angioimmunoblastic (AITL, n=20) were morphologically assessed for
intra-tumoral eosinophilia and analyzed by immunohistochemistry using specific antibodies
directed against TARC, IL-5, RANTES, and eotaxin. The AITL and PTCL-U cases contained
a mean of 147+/-41 and 102+/-37 eosinophils per 10 high power fields, respectively.
Thirty-two of 47 cases (68%) showed IL-5-positive lymphoma cells while 15/50 (30%)
tumors showed variable staining for TARC in scattered non-lymphoid cells with dendritic
morphology. TARC and IL-5-positive cases possessed significantly more eosinophils.
Our data indicate that IL-5 and TARC expression highly correlate with eosinophilia
in T-cell lymphomas, suggesting that these chemokines are involved in the recruitment
of eosinophils into the tumors.