Expression of CD1d and presence of invariant NKT cells in classical Hodgkin lymphoma

We studied CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Tumor cells stained positive for CD1d in 21/44 cHL cases, whereas in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), only 9/31 stained positive. In contrast, CD1c expression was more common in NHL. The percentage of iNKT cells in cHL cell suspensions was similar to the percentage in reactive lymph nodes and was not related to the CD1d expression status of the tumor cells. In conclusion, we found expression of CD1d in HRS cells in half of the cHL cases, and also observed a substantial population of iNKT cells in cHL cell suspensions.