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Common benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors such as schwannomas and neurofibromas arise both sporadically and in the setting of neurofibromatosis. They differ not only by histologic features but also by distinct molecular genetic events, leading to loss of neurofibromin in neurofibromas (NF1) and loss[for full text, please go to the a.m. URL], 57th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Neuropathology and Neuroanatomy (DGNN)

The non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtype anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) is frequently associated with a t(2;5)(p23;q35) that results in the fusion of the ubiquitously expressed nucleophosmin (NPM) gene at 5q35 to the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene at 2p23, which is not normally expressed in hematopoietic tissues. Approximately 20% of ALCLs that express ALK do not contain the t(2;5), suggesting that other genetic abnormalities can result in aberrant ALK expression. Here we report the molecular characterization of an alternative genetic means of ALK activation, the inv(2)(p23q35). This recurrent abnormality produces a fusion of the amino-terminus of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase/IMP cyclohydrolase (ATIC), a bifunctional homodimeric enzyme that catalyzes the penultimate and final steps of de novo purine nucleotide biosynthesis, with the intracellular portion of the ALK receptor tyrosine kinase. RT-PCR analysis of 5 ALCL tumors that contained the inv(2) revealed identical ATIC-ALK fusion cDNA junctions in all of the cases. Transient expression studies show that the ATIC-ALK fusion transcript directs the synthesis of an approximately 87-kd chimeric protein that is localized to the cytoplasm, in contrast to NPM-ALK, which typically exhibits a cytoplasmic and nuclear subcellular distribution. ATIC-ALK was constitutively tyrosine phosphorylated and could convert the IL-3-dependent murine hematopoietic cell line BaF3 to cytokine-independent growth. Our studies demonstrate an alternative mechanism for ALK involvement in the genesis of NHL and suggest that ATIC-ALK activation results from ATIC-mediated homodimerization. In addition, expected decreases in ATIC enzymatic function in ATIC-ALK-containing lymphomas may render these tumors more sensitive to antifolate drugs such as methotrexate. (Blood. 2000;95:2144-2149)

Little is known about genomic aberrations in peripheral T cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL NOS). We studied 47 PTCL NOS by 250k GeneChip single nucleotide polymorphism arrays and detected genomic imbalances in 22 of the cases. Recurrent gains and losses were identified, including gains of chromosome regions 1q32-43, 2p15-16, 7, 8q24, 11q14-25, 17q11-21 and 21q11-21 (< or = 5 cases each) as well as losses of chromosome regions 1p35-36, 5q33, 6p22, 6q16, 6q21-22, 8p21-23, 9p21, 10p11-12, 10q11-22, 10q25-26, 13q14, 15q24, 16q22, 16q24, 17p11, 17p13 and Xp22 (< or = 4 cases each). Genomic imbalances affected several regions containing members of nuclear factor-kappaB signalling and genes involved in cell cycle control. Gains of 2p15-16 were confirmed in each of three cases analysed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and were associated with breakpoints at the REL locus in two of these cases. Three additional cases with gains of the REL locus were detected by FISH among 18 further PTCL NOS. Five of 27 PTCL NOS investigated showed nuclear expression of the REL protein by immunohistochemistry, partly associated with genomic gains of the REL locus. Therefore, in a subgroup of PTCL NOS gains/rearrangements of REL and expression of REL protein may be of pathogenetic relevance.

Stimulation of lymphoid cells via their surface receptors triggers signalling pathways that terminate in the nucleus, where they induce alterations in gene transcription. Nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) transcription factors, involved in a major Ca2+-dependent signalling pathway, normally reside in the cytoplasm but re-locate to the nucleus when activation of the pathway (e.g. following ligation of antigen receptors) leads to their dephosphorylation. This study found that one member of the NFAT family (NFATc1/NFAT2) can be detected in routine biopsy samples, where it is seen in essentially all lymphoid cells, but is absent from the great majority of non-haematopoietic cells. An immunohistological evaluation of NFATc1 in almost 300 lymphomas showed that most neoplastic lymphoid cells also express NFATc1 as a cytoplasmic constituent, although it is absent in classical Hodgkin's disease and plasma cell proliferations. Of particular interest was the finding that NFATc1 was relocated to the nucleus in a minority of lymphoid neoplasms (usually diffuse large B-cell lymphomas or Burkitt lymphoma), presumably reflecting activation of the NFAT pathway. It would be of interest to correlate this feature with patterns of gene expression and also with prognosis, since it may identify a subset of human lymphoma that is distinct in its molecular and clinical features.