Immunohistochemical absence of CD21 membrane receptor in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells infected by Epstein-Barr virus in Spanish patients.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to analyze the relevance of the CD21 membrane receptor in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). CD21 is implicated in the introduction of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome into epithelial cells and B lymphocytes.

STUDY DESIGN

Immunohistochemical analysis of CD21 in NPC.

METHODS

Paraffin-embedded samples of NPC of different histological types with demonstrated presence of EBV were analyzed for CD21 expression using immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

We detected EBV by non-isotopic in situ hybridization (NISH) and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 100% of samples, regardless of histological type, supporting the previous view that all the types of NPC are variants of an EBV-associated malignancy. CD21 was not detected in NPC, and this absence was a typical feature in our data group.

CONCLUSIONS

The loss of the CD21 membrane receptor could be one of the immunophenotypical changes of the neoplastic cells that occur in the evolution of the NPC malignancy.