ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Pathology
Reed-Sternberg Cells Express CD161 and Lectin-Like Transcript 1 in Hodgkin Lymphoma
Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a B-cell lymphoma, and it is diagnosed by the presence of Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells surrounded by heavy immune cell infiltration in a tissue biopsy. CD161 (Cluster of differentiation 161) and its ligand Lectin-like transcript 1 (LLT1) have recently emerged as a novel immune-regulatory axis that modulates natural killer (NK) and T cell-mediated function in cancer and inflammatory conditions, but their expression in RS cells and association with HL patients' clinical19 pathological features remain poorly defined. In this study, 60 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples were collected from patients in Northern Jordan. In addition to 60 FFPE samples of positive control from benign reactive lymph node tissues and tonsils. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to assess the expression levels and patterns (cytoplasmic, membranous, or both) of CD161 and LLT1 in RS cells and then correlated with EBV status and clinical-pathological features such as subtype and disease stages. LLT1 expression in RS cells was predominantly cytoplasmic, with occasional dual cytoplasmic and membranous expressions. This is the first study in the literature to detect CD161 expression in RS cells as neoplastic cells at protein level. Statistical analyses showed no significant association between LLT1 or CD161 expression in RS cells and HL subtype, stage or EBV status. These findings provide the first characterization of LLT1 and CD161 expression in RS cells and suggest their potential use as a target in immunotherapy approaches in HL.
Summary
Keywords
CD161, FFPE, Hodgkin lymphoma, Immunohistochemistry, LLT1, Reed-Sternberg Cells
Received
26 November 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Rjoop, Al-Samama’h and AL-Eitan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Anwar Rjoop
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.