We recently found that the ribonucleotide reductase (RR) subunit M2 is potentially regulated by the key oncogenic hepatocyte growth factor/c-MET pathway in PEL.
To clarify the pathogenesis and histogenesis of PEL by investigating (1) the lymphoma karyotype; (2) the expression status of the Met tyrosine kinase receptor and of its ligand hepatocyte growth factor (HGF); (3) the molecular profile of EBV, with particular focus on mutations of EBNA-1 genes, which are thought to affect viral tumorigenicity in EBV-infected neoplasms displaying the latency I phenotype.
By using a combination of immunological and biological assays, production and secretion of a functional HGF species was identified in all PEL cell lines analyzed.