CD164 and FCRL3 are highly expressed on CD4+CD26- T cells in Sézary syndrome patients.
Maria Wysocka, Andrew V Kossenkov, Bernice M Benoit, Andrea B Troxel, Elisha Singer, Andras Schaffer, Brian Kim, Tzvete Dentchev, Satoshi Nagata, Tomoko Ise, Louise C Showe, Alain H Rook
Author Information
Maria Wysocka: Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Electronic address: mwysocka@mail.med.upenn.edu.
Andrew V Kossenkov: The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Bernice M Benoit: Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Andrea B Troxel: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Elisha Singer: Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Andras Schaffer: Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Brian Kim: Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Tzvete Dentchev: Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Satoshi Nagata: Cancer Biology Research Center, Sanford Research/USD, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.
Tomoko Ise: Cancer Biology Research Center, Sanford Research/USD, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.
Louise C Showe: The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Alain H Rook: Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Sézary syndrome (SS) cells express cell surface molecules also found on normal activated CD4 T cells. In an effort to find a more specific surface marker for malignant SS cells, a microarray analysis of gene expression was performed. Results showed significantly increased levels of mRNA for CD164, a sialomucin found on human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells, and FCRL3, a molecule present on a subset of human natural T regulatory cells. Both markers were increased in CD4 T cells from SS patients compared with healthy donors (HD). Flow cytometry studies confirmed the increased expression of CD164 and FCRL3 primarily on CD4+CD26- T cells of SS patients. Importantly, a statistically significant correlation was found between an elevated percentage of CD4+CD164+ T cells and an elevated percentage of CD4+CD26- T cells in all tested SS patients but not in patients with mycosis fungoides and atopic dermatitis or HD. FCRL3 expression was significantly increased only in patients with high tumor burden. CD4+CD164+ cells displayed cerebriform morphology and their loss correlated with clinical improvement in treated patients. Our results suggest that CD164 can serve as a marker for diagnosis and for monitoring progression of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)/SS and that FCRL3 expression correlates with a high circulating tumor burden.
References
Cancer Res. 2003 Nov 1;63(21):7122-7
[PMID: 14612505]
