Expression of interleukin-1 in Reed-Sternberg cells and neoplastic cells from true histiocytic malignancies.

Interleukin-1, a peptide produced by monocytes, histiocytes, and interdigitating reticulum cells, plays an important role in the regulation of immune function. In this styde, we examined the production of interleukin-1 in 115 patients with a variety of human lymphomas by using a rabbit anti-interleukin-1 antibody and the immunoperoxidase technique. Interleukin-1 was detected in Reed-Sternberg cells from 20 patients with Hodgkin's disease as well as in neoplastic cells from 9 patients with true histiocytic lymphoma or malignant histiocytosis. In the other 86 cases, which included T- and B-cell lymphomas, no interleukin-1 could be detected. This result indicates a close relationship between Hodgkin's disease and true histiocytic malignancies and provides additional evidence to support our hypothesis that Reed-Sternberg cells are related to interdigitating reticulum cells.