BACKGROUND

Inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) inhibit apoptosis by binding specific caspases, and possibly by other mechanisms. Eight IAPs have been identified in humans, of which cIAP1, cIAP2, and XIAP are well known. IAPs are being investigated as potential treatment targets in cancer patients.

METHODS

cIAP1, cIAP2, and XIAP were assessed in lymphoma cell lines, 240 B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) tumors, and 40 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) tumors.

RESULTS

All IAPs were expressed in most NHL and all HL cell lines. In NHL tumors, cIAP1 was expressed in 174 (73%), cIAP2 in 115 (48%), and XIAP in 37 (15%). cIAP1 was positive in all precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia (LBL) and nodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (MZL), over 90% of follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and approximately 50% to 60% of myeloma, Burkitt lymphoma (BL), lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma/Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (LPL/WM), small lymphocytic lymphoma/ chronic lymphocytic leukemia (SLL/CLL), extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT-lymphoma), splenic MZL, and mantle cell lymphoma. cIAP2 was positive in all MALT-lymphoma, over 90% of precursor B-cell LBL (94%), most BL (75%), LPL/WM (71%), and SLL/CLL (67%), and approximately 40% to 60% of follicular lymphoma, myeloma, and DLBCL. XIAP was positive most cases of precursor B-cell LBL (57%) and approximately 30% to 40% of nodal MZL, BL, and DLBCL. In HL tumors, cIAP1 was positive in 30 (75%), cIAP2 in 27 (68%), and XIAP in 23 (58%), and did not correlate with histologic type.

CONCLUSIONS

Differential expression of IAPs in B-cell lymphomas suggests differences in pathogenesis that may have implications for novel treatment strategies targeting IAPs.