Detection of Epstein-Barr virus DNA in Hodgkin- and Reed-Sternberg-cells by single cell PCR.

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can be detected in the majority of lymph nodes involved by Hodgkin's lymphoma using the highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, the rate of EBV-DNA detection by in-situ hybridisation, which allows allocation of EBV to a defined cell population, i.e. the neoplastic H&RS-cells, is lower. In an attempt to combine the advantages of the high sensitivity of the PCR and the possibility of cellular allocation by in-situ hybridisation, we established a single-cell PCR of Hodgkin- and Reed-Sternberg (H&RS)-cells isolated by micromanipulation from biopsy tissues. We amplified EBV sequences from the BamW-region by single-cell PCR. Using this method we were able to detect EBV-DNA in the H&RS-cells from 4 of 6 patients. In EBV positive cases all H&RS-cells of a given patient were positive, proving the high sensitivity and reproducibility of the method. Other cells in the biopsy tissue involved by EBV-positive H&RS-cells were shown to be negative. This indicates that EBV may have a role in the pathogenesis of many but not all cases of Hodgkin's disease.